Addventure Road
by ice73
Summary: [AU:KOR with slight Ranma]: Madoka gets a Jusenkyo curse that turns her into a boy whenever she gets splashed with cold water. What's a smitten Kyousuke Kasuga to do?
1. Orange Trouble! On The Road To Fuurinkan

**Disclaimer:** KOR © Matsumoto Izumi/ Shueisha/ Studio Pierrot/ Toho. Ranma ½ © Takahashi Rumiko/ Shogakukan/ Fuji TV/ Kitty Films. This work is not intended for commercial gain or to challenge these copyrights.

**Author's Note:** Originally written for the Anime Addventure, this is one of my more idiotic exercises in writing. I have reached new lows in trying to cross two series of radically different natures. Please forgive this. I promise I won't do it again.

The situation when this story opens is thus: Kyousuke and the gang have been transferred temporarily to Fuurinkan High because of an accidental explosion at Koryou which damaged the school. They're not the only ones seeking refuge at the abode of Ranma and Co.: lots of other anime characters are also there. Perfect for some otherwise impossible situations, right? 

**ADDVENTURE ROAD**

**Orange Trouble! On The Way To Fuurinkan**

July. In the rising heat of a summer morning, under a peaceful, brilliant blue sky, the blossoms were drifting down slowly from the dogwood and pagoda trees lining a certain street in a certain ward of Tokyo named Nerima. It was promising to be a glorious day.

If one had the eyes of a god, and looked down from that sky onto that street, at that time, one would have seen a small bunch of schoolchildren walking along, making their way to school. And if one could hear like a god and listen to what they said, one would understand that they were like all other schoolchildren all over the world. Mostly.

"This is the pits," groused Kyousuke Kasuga, yawning. "I really hate getting up earlier just so we can get to Fuurinkan on time." The high-schooler with the unruly mane of black hair was walking in a middle of a bunch of students recently transferred from the comprehensive school of Koryou Gakuen to Fuurinkan High School.

"You shouldn't complain, onii-chan," said Kurumi Kasuga, walking beside him, looking up at the blooming trees, her brownish eyes gleaming in the light. "Manami-chan and I told you to sleep earlier, but _nooo_, you just had to stay up and watch that corny movie."

"That's right," agreed Manami Kasuga, walking on her brother's opposite side. She adjusted her large round glasses as she frowned at him. "What did you see in it anyway?"

Kyousuke stopped yawning and cast a condescending glance at his sister with the dark-blue hair. "You wouldn't understand even if I told you. You're too young," he pontificated with remarkable audacity, considering that he was just two years older than her. Privately, he knew he couldn't tell his sisters, not without putting his dignity at risk and letting them cut him down to size with their words. The movie had featured two teenagers falling in love with each other. The male protagonist was an ordinary guy, new to a school, clueless and hesitant, while the the female lead had been a _sukeban_, beautiful and untouchable. Kyousuke had tried to pick up whatever insights he could from the show, realizing its uncanny parallels to his own situation. He had obtained a few so far, and couldn't wait to try them out once the opportunities presented themselves.

The object of all this painstaking attention on his part was walking by herself way ahead of the rest of the group. Madoka Ayukawa had suggested yesterday, while at work at the ABCB kissaten, that it would be better for all of the Koryou Gakuen students who were currently going to Fuurinkan to get there as a group, for safety and convenience's sake, and to avoid any problems with being late. Kyousuke had enthusiastically agreed with her; any chance to spend more time with Ayukawa was always welcomed by him. They had all met at the train station in Yokuya town, him, his sisters, Madoka, Hikaru, Yuusaku, his hentai friends (or was it fiends?) Komatsu and Hatta, and some other students, and their journey to Nerima had been without incident.

Kyousuke sighed. Well, not really without incident. He had tried to sidle up to Madoka on the train (they were all standing because of the early morning rush that filled the compartment) and inadvertently bumped her posterior as the train ran over some points in the track. He had smiled sheepishly, scratched his head and apologized, but the effort went for naught as the vehicle shook again and he stumbled forward into her, his hands touching her breasts as he tried to break his fall. It was purely accidental, but the way her eyes had flashed at him and the way her voice had growled "_Sukebe!_" then told Kyousuke that she was probably not going to forgive him any time soon. He was lucky to have escaped without her giving him one of her devastating 'three-in-one' slaps. That little set-to was why she was walking apart from him and the rest of the group.

"Darling!" The happy shout served to rouse him from his gloomy reminiscences and warned him to prepare to be-

Glomp! Hikaru Hiyama leapt and tackled him from behind, her arms going round his neck and squeezing him in an embrace that put him perilously close to oxygen starvation.

"Darling!" she shouted again in her high voice, not minding the fact that Kyousuke's eardrums were less than a foot away from her mouth. "I'm so happy to be walking with you under the flowering trees!"

"Ahahah..." For want of anything else to say, Kyousuke replied, "I'm happy to be with you too." Kurumi giggled at the couple, but Manami looked in Ayukawa-sempai's direction and hoped this wasn't going to exacerbate her brother's standing with the _kimagure_ bad girl.

"_Nee_, Darling," said Hikaru, "shall we eat together at lunchtime? I made a special box lunch for you today. Hmm, you look a bit flustered. That's okay, my _obento_ will perk you up! Guaranteed!"

"Okay, Hikaru-chan," said Kyousuke, not wishing to hurt her feelings and set off a flood of tears so early in the day. "Let's meet at the front door later?"

Hikaru nodded and slid off him. "Ya-ho! I'll see you later then, Darling!" With a gay wave, she left them and dashed up to best friend Madoka.

Kyousuke watched her go, her skirt billowing as she ran, and sighed in relief. Madoka hadn't glanced his way. He was thinking of the possible consequences had she done so, and so was startled to hear a voice at his left shoulder.

"I watched as the embodiment of my eternal summer ran, her golden hair shining in the morning sunlight," it mock-quoted. "I knew she'd make a fine wife someday." Curly-haired, freckle-faced Seiji Komatsu had seen the whole thing and walked up behind Kyousuke, wanting to tease him about it.

A piece of black illustration board with a rectangle cut out in the middle suddenly popped up on Kyousuke's right. The chubby, eyeglass-wearing face of Kazuya Hatta appeared in it. "Kasuga Kyousuke," he intoned. "Sixteen years old, living in the springtime of my youth."

"Knock it off, you two!" Kyousuke said as his sisters laughed. "Don't ruin my morning!"

"Ruin your morning!" Komatsu exclaimed. "Kasuga, you dog! You've just had your wife clinging all over you! How could we"

"poor, pitiful souls" Hatta interjected expertly.

"possibly ruin your morning?"

"Come on, onii-tama," Komatsu said, putting an overly friendly arm on Kyousuke's shoulder, "tell us your secret. What do you do that makes you so irresistible to women?"

Kyousuke looked at him, then at Kurumi and Manami. "Well, if you must know..."

"Yes? Yes?"

"I respect them and flatter them, and I don't go around trying to cop a feel or take pictures of their underwear, or ask them for their three sizes. Oh, yeah, and I give them gifts when necessary." He covertly winked at his sisters.

Komatsu's face showed his disgust. "Che! You're such a spoilsport, Kasuga."

Hatta immediately took Kyousuke's advice, however, and went to amble by Kurumi's side. "Kurumi-chan, you have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen," he gushed.

Kurumi, who had heard her brother, snorted. "Yeah, right."

"No, really, I mean it. Why, they look as tasty as the gyouza my mother made last night ..."

A sudden red blur leaping through the sky in front of them interrupted Hatta's enthusiastic, if inexpert, wooing. The gang from Koryou watched as another white streak quickly followed the red one.

"Ranma!" a voice shouted through the air. "You shall pay for what you did to my Shampoo!"

Manami frowned. "'What you did to my shampoo?' Boy, the people here are really strange, aren't they, onii-chan? Just a bottle of shampoo, and they're ready to kill each other over it."

Kyousuke chuckled. "I don't think that's what he meant, Manami-chan."

"Well, I find the folks here really refreshing." It was Yuusaku Hino, Hikaru's erstwhile suitor and Kyousuke's self-assigned rival. The brown-haired boy was walking by Manami's side. "They're all incredible martial artists, and that Ranma is way more macho than some guys I know." He smirked and sent a malicious glance at Kyousuke, who, irritated at his _kouhai_ insolence, returned the favor.

"Why is Ayukawa walking so far ahead of the rest of us?" asked Hatta.

Komatsu sniffed. "That delinquent! She probably thinks she's too good for us, so she's trying to stay as far away as she can."

Kyousuke opened his mouth to protest, but Manami cut him off with "Tanabata is coming along, onii-chan."

"So?" he asked, confused by the abrupt change in topic.

"So, you might want to think about how you can repair relations with someone." Manami gave him a conspiratorial wink. "You were talking about giving gifts a while ago. Women love gifts. Especially ones given on a romantic occasion."

"Yeah!" Kurumi seconded, running a hand through her shoulder-length brown hair. "Only, knowing onii-chan, he'll probably be trying to decide on what to give until Hell freezes over."

"Gifts, eh?" Komatsu rubbed his hands avidly.

"Hey, what are you thinking?" Kyousuke didn't like the look on his friend's face.

"Oh, nothing, nothing."

There was an almighty crash some distance away in front of them, and a cloud of gray smoke appeared in the middle of the road. As it dissipated, the group from Koryou saw a figure sitting in it, dusting itself off.

"Kuonji-san!" shouted Kyousuke as they came near enough to tell who it was. The long-haired girl looked slightly battered, and had a bloody gash in her forearm.

"Ah, the spatula girl!" Hatta exclaimed. He and Komatsu suddenly developed superhuman speed and rushed up the the road to her side, passing by the astonished Madoka and Hikaru in the process.

"Are you alright?" asked Komatsu, leering at her as he assisted her to her feet. "Can we do anything to help you?"

Before Ukyou Kuonji could reply, however, a black ribbon streaked through the sky and wrapped itself around her left leg. She was tossed into the air in Kyousuke's direction like a rag doll, and a uniquely maniacal laugh echoed throughout the neighborhood.

Kyousuke watched Ukyou flying towards him and positioned himself to catch her. As she neared him, the morning sunlight seemed to delicately play off her features: it shone off her long black hair, streaming in the wind; it highlighted the curves of her thighs and legs, hidden beneath fitting black tights; it outlined the gentle swell of her chest beneath its dark-blue cloth and bindings; and it emphasized her large, shining dark eyes as her gaze met his.

Kyousuke gulped and looked away in another direction. Unfortunately, it was straight into the eyes of Madoka. For a fleeting moment he saw that she knew what he was thinking, and that she had a hurt expression on her face. He was ashamed at himself for thinking no better than Komatsu or Hatta would have, but just as he opened his mouth to ask for forgiveness, Ukyou slammed into him and sent both of them sprawling onto the pavement.

The world exploded in a welter of pain. Kyousuke blacked out for a moment before regaining consciousness and hearing Manami's frantic "Onii-chan! Are you alright?"

"I've been better," he groaned in reply. "Just stop the world from spinning, please."

At the front of the group, Komatsu and Hatta looked up to see a girl in a dark leotard standing proudly on the roof of a nearby house. She held a gymnast's ribbon in one hand, expertly twirling it as she addressed her opponent and the audience around them both.

"See the power of Kodachi the Black Rose," she proclaimed, laughing again. "You should give up, Ukyou Kuonji. I shall never concede Ranma to one as plebian as you."

"Never!" Ukyou cried as she sat up on top of the prostrate Kyousuke. She looked down apologetically at him. "Sorry about that, Kasuga-kun."

"Oh, that's okay," Kyousuke replied weakly as he tried to blink the stars away from his eyes. "I just adore being a cushion for falling female martial artists." He felt the lovely softness of her bottom move against his flesh as she got off his chest. _Wonderful_, he thought drunkenly, still half-stunned by his impact on the pavement. _I wonder if Ayukawa's butt feels just as soft... what are you thinking, Kyousuke Kasuga? Baka, baka, baka! _

Manami and Kurumi helped him up. He watched as the Black Rose drew her arm back and lashed out with her ribbon again at Ukyou. Before it could hit his new classmate, however, it was cut in twain by something small, white and sharp zipping through the air.

"What the" Kodachi sputtered as she clutched the handle of her suddenly-shortened weapon, watching as pieces of it fluttered to the ground like her eponymous rose petals.

"You should get out of our way," said a voice familiar to Kyousuke. "You're making us late for school." He looked to see Madoka, standing in the middle of the street with her legs apart in a ready stance, holding one of her guitar picks in the fingers of a hand. Beside her, Hikaru had already dumped her bag on the ground and was also adopting a ready stance, clenching her fists, waiting to assist her friend.

Manami looked worriedly at her brother. "Onii-chan..."


	2. Get Ready, Madoka! Summer Skirmish!

**Get ready, Madoka! Summer Skirmish!**

Kyousuke Kasuga stood in the middle of the street, watching as Madoka Ayukawa faced off with Kodachi Kunou. The latter was standing on a red-tiled house roof, putting away her useless ribbon and bringing out a set of gymnastic clubs (where she had hidden them, Kyousuke had no idea), while the Ice Queen of Koryou Gakuen stood in the street waiting for her, fingering the guitar pick in her hand.

"Komatsu! Hatta! Get Manami, Kurumi and Kuonji-san out of here!" The tone in his voice brooked no disobedience. "Yuusaku, take care of Hikaru!"

"Hey," voiced his recalcitrant junior, "who put you in charge?"

"Just do it!" he snapped. There was no wishy-washying in him where the girls' safety was concerned. The guys instinctively knew this, and scrambled to do what he said. Madoka the delinquent would presumably be left in his hands.

Yuusaku ran up to Hikaru and told her to come with him. "No way," she said. "I'm staying to help Madoka-san."

Yuusaku looked back at Kyousuke and shook his head. Kyousuke signaled back that he should do whatever was necessary to see to her safety.

_Hikaru-chan, forgive me._ With a mighty heave, Yuusaku lifted up his blond-haired love interest and slung her over his shoulder.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she shouted in surprise. "Put me down!"

Madoka looked briefly at him. "Get her away from here, Yuu-kun."

Yuusaku nodded and ran off, Hikaru still shouting her protestations over his shoulder, bonking his head with her fists as he retreated down the street to join Komatsu and Hatta, who had taken the twins and the injured Ukyou Kuonji with them.

Kyousuke made sure that everyone was safely away before he turned his attention back to Madoka and Kodachi.

"You dare to challenge me?" the expert in Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics thundered. "I hope you've got your grave ready, because you'll definitely need it!"

"You talk too much!" Madoka shouted. "Shut up and fight!"

With a hate-filled snarl, Kodachi leapt from the roof and hurled one of her clubs at Madoka. The _sukeban_ dodged it by leaping to the side, and, as it shattered on the ground behind her, retaliated by throwing her guitar pick at her opponent.

Kodachi put one of her remaining clubs in front of her face to block the shot. The guitar pick embedded itself in the gymnastic appliance, and Kodachi landed on the street in front of Madoka.

"Is that all you've got?" she sneered. "You're pitiful." She began swinging her clubs at Madoka with a strength and speed that belied her slim, relatively muscle-free frame.

Madoka winced as she parried Kodachi's blows with her forearms. _Kuso!_ she bad-mouthed. _This girl's faster than I thought! _ She waited for the Black Rose to draw her weapons back, then quickly backflipped away from her, lashing out with a leg as she did so.

Kodachi's head snapped back as Madoka's foot caught her on the chin. She staggered back a little and brought a hand to her mouth.

"What's the matter, Black Rose?" Madoka taunted. "This girl isn't as pitiful as you thought she was, is she?"

"Insolent stranger," Kodachi spat. She stutter-stepped and jabbed at Madoka with a club. Then, as her opponent dodged the blow, she knelt down and knocked her off her feet with a quick leg sweep.

Madoka hit the ground with an audible thud. Kyousuke saw the pain on her face as she rolled away from Kodachi and got back on her feet.

_I've got to help her somehow,_ he thought, racking his mind for a way to do so without being detected as using his Power. He ran nearer to the battling pair.

Madoka rushed Kodachi, intending to bring her to the ground, where her weapons would present less of a danger. She dug another guitar pick from the holster band hidden on her right thigh and threw it, hoping the other girl would be distracted long enough for her to shoot and bring her down.

Kodachi was aware of Madoka's intent, however, and knowing her fighting style precluded any close-in fighting and grappling, jumped well clear of the danger. The guitar pick missed by a wide margin, and she twisted the neck of one of her clubs and quickly threw it at the charging _sukeban._ It exploded in a bright flash as it hit the ground beside her, stunning Madoka long enough for Kodachi to lightly hop onto her head and balance there.

"Pitiful," she sneered once, then struck the back of Madoka's head with her heel. The strike brought the _sukeban_ to her knees, and the gymnast jumped off, landed on the ground, and turned around, intent on finishing her impudent opponent off.

Madoka shook her head, trying to clear it, and twisted around and fired off another pick. Kodachi, seeing victory over the groggy girl close at hand, raised her weapons to block it.

All of a sudden Kodachi's clubs seemed to disintegrate, and Madoka's guitar pick slashed her cheek as it flew past her.

Shocked at discovering herself weaponless and wounded, the Black Rose froze long enough for Madoka to tackle her. They crashed to the ground, and Kodachi was stunned as the back of her head cracked on the pavement. Madoka straddled her and, to make sure that her foe was out of commission, grabbed her face and smashed her head twice on the ground. Kodachi let out a groan, then was silent.

Madoka stood up and brushed her tousled hair back. She stepped off the unconscious gymnast and turned to face Kyousuke, who was standing behind her with a grin on his face.

"What are you smiling about, Kasuga-kun?" she asked sharply, her blood still boiling from the encounter.

"Nothing, nothing," stammered Kyousuke, taken aback by the fierce expression on her face. He wished he could expect thanks from her for his help, but he had to keep his esper powers secret from her. She didn't know he had crushed Kodachi's clubs with his telekinesis.

They stood, facing each other silently, when a cry sounded through the air. "Madoka-san!"

They looked down the way they had come to see Hikaru running back towards them, Ukyou and Yuusaku closely following her, with the twins and the hentais not far behind.

"Madoka-san! Thank goodness you're alright!" Hikaru exclaimed as she ran up and took her friend's hands in her own. "This bozo wouldn't let me help you!" She jerked a thumb in Yuusaku's general direction.

"Geez," the curly-haired boy grumbled, rubbing his cheeks where Hikaru had slapped them. "Some thanks I get for keeping her out of trouble."

Madoka's expression softened as she looked at her childhood friend. "Don't blame Yuu-kun, Hikaru-chan. I didn't want you to get hurt."

"But... you could've gotten injured!" Hikaru wailed. "And I couldn't stand that happening to you, Madoka-san!"

Madoka was about to reply when a voice suddenly cried "Look out!" from somewhere in the sky behind her. She spun around, pushing Hikaru away from her as she did so.

Ranma Saotome, dressed in his red Chinese shirt and olive-green pants, landed before her. He held a canister of water in one hand. He looked at her and smiled.

"Whew," he said. "Sorry, I thought I was going to hit you." He looked past Madoka, and his eyes grew big. "Hey, what happened to Kodachi?"

"She got in my way," Madoka replied. Ranma stared dumbfounded at her.

"Ucchan! What happened to your arm?"

"I hurt it fighting our mutual friend, Ran-chan," the okonomiyaki shop owner answered, holding her bleeding forearm up for him to see. "Lucky for me our new classmates were able to help me."

"Poor Kodachi," Ranma said. "You wouldn't happen to be related to each other, would you?" he asked Ukyou while gesturing at Madoka. "You sound a lot like each other."

"No. What's that in your hands?"

Ranma smiled. "My salvation, Ucchan." Just as he was about to elaborate, however, a shout interrupted him.

"Ranma! Give that back to me!"

They turned to see a figure in loose white Chinese dress land behind Ranma. It was Mousse, Shampoo's suitor and Ranma's rival.

"Hand over what you stole, you thief! Then maybe I shall forgive you for your crime against my beloved Shampoo."

Manami, who was standing some distance away watching the whole event, said, "Oh! Now I understand! Shampoo's a name!"

Ukyou raised her eyebrows. "Ran-chan? You stole that?"

Ranma nodded without looking at her. His attention was focused on Mousse, who had been chasing him the whole morning. "I got it from the Nekohanten."

"What is it exactly?" Ukyou could guess what was in the container, but knowing how strange Ranma acted sometimes...

Before the handsome, black-haired martial artist could answer, Mousse threw a knife at him. Ranma leapt into the air to avoid it, but the weapon tagged his arm and made him let go of the container of water.

"No!" he yelled.

The canister fell down and smashed against the pavement. Its contents splashed over Madoka, who turned away trying to avoid most of it.

"Ayukawa!" yelled Kyousuke. "Are you alright?" Beyond her Ranma leapt away, cursing loudly, hotly pursued by Mousse. The pair disappeared behind the surrounding rooftops.

Madoka removed her hands from her face and looked down at her drenched body. Kyousuke saw her seem to start, but couldn't be sure, as she had her back to him.

"Madoka-san! What's wrong?" said Hikaru, stepping up to her as she clapped her hands over her chest. Kyousuke's eyes bugged out as he saw the gesture.

He watched as the girl of his dreams ran her hands this way and that over herself, then unzipped her skirt partway and peered inside her waistband. She started again, and Hikaru, who was standing beside her, peered inside too. She quickly withdrew herself, however, and turned to Kyousuke with a beet-red face.

Kyousuke, concerned, walked closer to Madoka. "Ayukawa?" he called tentatively.

Still facing away from him, she zipped her skirt back up. "Kasuga-kun," came her voice. It was lower, sounding much like Fuurinkan High's new school nurse Miss Sakura's throaty contralto.

"Ayukawa? What's wrong?" He looked at Hikaru, hoping for an explanation, but all he got was a shake of her head.

"Kasuga-kun, what...what's going on?" Madoka asked plaintively. "Why am I like this?"

Alarmed, Kyousuke said, "What do you mean?"

She turned around, and the esper's jaw dropped.

"Kasuga-kun," she said, panic evident in her voice, "what happened to me? Look at me, Kasuga-kun! I'm a boy! I'm a boy!"


	3. Search For A Cure! Madoka's A Boy!

**Search For A Cure! Madoka's A Boy!**

It was true. Part of it made Kyousuke Kasuga want to laugh. Madoka was as handsome as a _bishounen_ as she was beautiful as a _bishoujo._

"What am I going to do, Kasuga-kun?" the girl-turned-into-a-boy moaned, and the grief in the throaty voice sent the pity welling up in Kyousuke's heart. "I can't go back home looking like this!"

"Don't worry, Ayukawa," he said. "I'm sure we'll find a way to turn you back into your old self."

"Yeah," came a voice behind him, and he turned to see Ukyou Kuonji standing beside and slightly behind him, holding a kettle of hot water in her hand. "Don't fall to pieces now, Ayukawa-san." She stepped up to the transmogrified girl and poured the water over her head.

"_Itai! _Ouch!" Madoka shouted. Kyousuke suddenly saw him turn back into a girl again, soaking wet and thankful.

"That's great, Kuonji-san! Thank you!" Kyousuke bowed many times to the girl with the coal-black eyes.

Ukyou raised her free hand. "Don't thank me yet, Kasuga-kun. This is only temporary. She'll turn back into a guy whenever she gets splashed by cold water again."

"What?" exclaimed Manami, who was standing behind Ukyou. She was trying to listen to her brother's classmate, while at the same time trying to fend off Komatsu's surreptitious attempts at putting his arm around her shoulders. "That's terrible!"

"I'll say," twin Kurumi agreed. "Why, how can you take cold showers on a hot day now, Ayukawa-sempai?"

Kyousuke imagined Madoka under the falling water, turning from a naked female to a naked male. He grimaced. "No! I'm sure we'll find a way to return her to normal!"

"That's the spirit, Kasuga-kun," said Ukyou, pounding him on the shoulder. Kyousuke looked at her. The kettle, he noted with much mystification, was nowhere to be seen. "Although I have to warn you, other people here have a similar curse to your girlfriend's, and they haven't had much luck in turning themselves back into normal." She looked down at the unconscious Kodachi still sprawled in the middle of the street. "Normal being a relative term, that is. Come on. I want to thank you for saving me, and I don't think Ayukawa-san will want to go to school today with a Jusenkyo curse on her."

Kyousuke had blushed at the spatula girl's comment about Ayukawa being his 'girlfriend.' Hikaru, meanwhile, had heard the same and clung tightly to his arm, looking suspiciously at her Darling, trying to read his eyes. "Er... she's not my girlfriend, Kuonji-san," he explained, wishing he could somehow vanish from the entire mortifying scene. He could feel the daggers being stabbed into his back by Madoka.

"_Hai!_" the perky blond Hikaru Hiyama agreed, nodding her head vigorously. "_I'm_ his girlfriend!"

"Oh?" Ukyou looked at Kyousuke, then Hikaru, then Madoka. She noted the flat expression on the latter's face, and the beads of sweat popping out on Kyousuke's forehead. "Oh... kay. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Please, follow me." She turned and began to walk up the road.

"Where are we going?" asked Kurumi.

Kyousuke turned to look at his sister. "I don't think Kuonji-san meant for you to come along."

"No, it's okay," said the owner of Okonomiyaki Ucchan's as she paused, realizing they weren't following her. "You can all come along. I'll treat all of you." She smiled at Kyousuke.

"Yaay!" Kurumi and Manami shouted in unison.

Kyousuke chuckled. "You don't know my sisters, Kuonji-san. They'll eat you out of house and home."

"Onii-chan!" the twins protested.

"That's okay. I'm used to feeding people like Ranma and his father. I think I can handle your sisters as well." Secretly, Ukyou began to mentally account for her stocks of ingredients in the restaurant larder... "Oh, and please, call me Ukyou."

They all began to walk. Kyousuke noticed Ayukawa coming closer to his side, her arms crossed over her chest. She had a self-contained expression on her face, and he observed that her blue-green gaze was directed inwards. She shivered a little.

Without a word he stripped off the jacket of his school uniform placed it around her shoulders. She looked at him.

"Thank you, Kasuga-kun," she said softly, and Kyousuke's heart skipped a beat as he saw her smile at him. He loved to see that smile, and fervently wished some day to be able to kiss those lips that formed it. But even as he gazed upon her face, he still felt Hikaru's grip on his arm, and it was as if the _sukeban's_ eyes and ditzy girl's touch were pulling him apart, ripping his heart asunder. He loved Madoka—that much he could admit to himself—but he didn't want to hurt Hikaru by making that fact known to the world at large. Everyone thought Hikaru's claim on him was rock-solid; only Manami, Master and evil Sayuri back at Koryou knew the truth.

"Waah," said Hikaru in admiration. "Darling is _sooo_ thoughtful." Kyousuke turned away from Madoka to smile at the blond girl clinging to his arm, but when he looked in her direction again she was walking apart from him once more. _Ayukawa..._

"_Neh,_ Darling," Hikaru was saying. "I hope you're coming to the Tanabata party at ABCB."

"Of course I'll come. Why wouldn't I?"

"You might have... something else to do at the time." Kyousuke saw her glance quickly at Madoka, then fight off her suspicion, looking up at him and smiling.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." _Hikaru-chan... do you know how I feel right now? I'm caught between a rock and a hard place, Hikaru. I don't want to lose either of you... _The thought made him risk Madoka's renewed ire by removing Hikaru's arms from him so he could put an arm around her waist._ But I know this can't go on... _He squeezed her more tightly against his side, and watched the doubt evaporate from the blond-haired girl's face. She favored him with another innocent smile, and seeing it made Kyousuke feel lower than the lowest life-form on Earth just then.

_We just can't go on like this, Hikaru-chan..._

oOo

"What?" the Master of ABCB exclaimed, nearly dropping the glass he'd been polishing against the counter. "You've got to be kidding me."

"No, Master, I'm not," said Madoka. "If you'd like, I could show you."

She was sitting at ABCB's counter, along with Kyousuke, Hikaru, and Yuusaku. Kurumi and Manami had departed earlier on Hatta and Komatsu's arms, respectively, saying that they were going to study for tomorrow. Manami had quietly reassured her brother that she wouldn't let the hentais do anything untoward. Kyousuke had agreed and let them go, knowing he could trust the elder twin, but still worried that she might yield against the constant efforts being made by Komatsu at winning her affection. _Ah, well,_ he thought. _They're probably old enough to take care of themselves._

"Oi, oi, Ayukawa," Kyousuke protested. "You can't change into a guy here."

"Why not?"

"Because... because there's so many people around!"

"Silly. I was planning to use the back room." Her eyes narrowed. "Are you ashamed to see me as a guy, Kasuga-kun?"

Kyousuke waved his hands. "No, no, it's nothing like that!"

"Then what is it?"

"Uh... because... you might catch cold if you get wet again!"

"That's right, Madoka-san!" concurred Hikaru. "Besides, you'll get Kuonji-sempai's clothes all damp." Madoka was dressed in the loose jeans and white t-shirt that the restaurant owner had lent her.

"I'm going to wash them anyway," said Madoka. "And I'm not as sickly as some people here," she added with a glance at Kyousuke. Without further ado she picked up a pitcher of water from behind the counter, stood up, and went to ABCB's changing room, which was located behind the bar. Kyousuke heard the _click_ of the door as she shut it.

Master looked at his young customers with concerned eyes. "She's serious, isn't she?"

Kyousuke nodded, while Yuusaku said, "She's telling the truth, Master. Better heat up some water while we wait."

The brown-haired proprietor of the kissaten gestured to his coffee-brewing machine on the counter. "Already got it here."

After around seven seconds, a soft "Master" came from the direction of the back room.

Everyone went and stood outside the partially opened door. Master's face imitated Kyousuke's earlier, when he had first seen Ayukawa as a boy.

"Incredible!"

Kyousuke could have said the same thing as he looked at Ayukawa-_shounen_ once more. Her rounded face had become more angled, the jaw becoming a bit more squarish and manly; her hair had grown a bit shorter, and she was taller now than Kyousuke remembered; and her fingers were long, sleek, mobile appendages on the end of her hands. Her mouth had grown wider and the lips thinner, but had strangely lost none of its sensuality. The only thing that remained the same were her eyes: they were the same changeable, catlike orbs that Kyousuke had grown to know and be fascinated by, and now they were a dark, dark blue.

"Do you doubt me now, Master?" asked his part-time helper, in the low voice again.

Master pushed past the strange person standing just inside his changing room door and looked around. He found nothing and sighed.

"Okay, I believe you now. Come to think of it, I can really call you Ayukawa-kun when you're like this," he said, patting him on the shoulder. "Well, you'd better change back and dry off. Kyousuke, could you please hand this young man the coffee-machine pot?"

Madoka blinked. He had been expecting more of an extreme reaction from him, and was grateful to have been proven wrong about the matter.

"No, wait," he said. "I've changed my mind. I think I'll go home as a boy tonight."

"Huh?" Hikaru raised her eyebrows. "Why, Madoka-san?"

"It'll help prevent problems with guys," he replied cryptically. "Plus I guess I've got to get used to this somehow. Remember what Kuonji-san said about obtaining a cure to this. I can't go all the way to China now."

"Why not ask your parents for some money?" suggested Kyousuke.

"And what do I tell them when they ask why I want to go to China?"

"Tell them the truth," Yuusaku said.

"Oh, sure. How do you think they'll react when I tell them I've got a curse that turns me into a guy whenever I get hit by cold water?" He sighed. "They'd never believe me."

Kyousuke looked at Madoka's downcast face, and knew why he was despondent. He wasn't telling them what he had admitted to Kyousuke some days earlier, that relations between her and her parentsnever smooth most of the timewere quite rocky at the moment. It was doubtful that they'd be inclined to help their strong-willed youngest child just then for such an unbelievable reason.

"Yeah," chirped Hikaru. "Besides, the Spring of Drowned Girl water won't remove the curse. It'll just make you a girl, the same one Saotome-sempai is." Ranma Saotome had dropped by Ukyou's _okonomiyaki-ya_ while the gang from Koryou was talking with her, and had joined in the conversation. Madoka, on seeing Ranma again, had almost started a fight with him because of what he'd done to her—even though it was an accident—but Ranma asked her for her forgiveness and showed that he, too, was the victim of a similar curse, one that turned him into the red-headed pig-tailed girl she and Kyousuke had seen on their first day at Furinkan. He was becoming desperate enough about getting rid of it to resort to stealing the Spring of Drowned Man water that he had learned was being kept hidden by Shampoo in her Nekohanten restaurant.

"Alright then, Ayukawa-kun. I guess I'll let you off work for tonight. But take care of yourself, okay?" Master gave her a kindly, concerned expression.

Madoka bowed deeply to his technically-illicit employer. "Thank you for the reassurance, Master. You don't know how much that means to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll just change my clothes." He had a spare set of clothing in the ABCB locker, above where he hung his apron.

"Okay." The middle-aged man exited the back room and closed the door.

oOo

Later that night, Kyousuke and Madoka were walking along, after seeing Hikaru and Yuusaku off and riding the Orange Road bus to the station near the Ayukawa mansion. Aboard the vehicle, they had been silent most of the way. Kyousuke was still disturbed by the presence of the beautiful guy seated beside him, while Madoka was still getting used to the new sensations he was experiencing being a male. They had only shared one exchange, one that started with Madoka saying, "Kasuga-kun? Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"What's the real reason you don't want me to change into a boy?"

"Eh?"

"I know you, Kasuga-kun. I know you lied to me back at ABCB."

Kyousuke had laughed shamefacedly at being found out. "Ahahah... The truth is, Ayukawa, I'm just not used to your new body yet." He wasn't going to tell her he didn't like the thought of himself desiring after a guy. He just didn't swing that way.

"Are you telling me that the only important thing to you about a girl is her body?" His male companion looked out the bus window. "I thought better of you, Kasuga-kun."

"That's not true! I don't go after girls because of their body only!" he spluttered. _Actually, I don't go after girls at all, except for you, Ayukawa..._ "It's so mean of you to say that."

Madoka looked repentant. "Sorry, Kasuga-kun. It's probably the testosterone. I feel especially... combative tonight." He shook his head. "Ooh, when I get home the first thing I'm going to do is take a nice hot shower."

_Hot shower..._ Kyousuke began to fantasize about Ayukawa under the running water again, as he had many, many times before, and how he'd walk in and take a shower with her, an action which, of course, led to other, better things... only this time, the hot water ran out and he found himself standing naked next to another guy. Then he looked into those beautiful eyes and heard himself say, "Ah, what the heck," and started to reach out...

"Kasuga-kun!" The quiet call startled him out of his fantasy-cum-nightmare, and he discovered Madoka looking at him with a critical male eye. They were at the front door of her house. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, sorry." He frowned. "What will your sister say when she sees you like this?"

Shaking his head irritatedly, the _bishounen_ replied, "I don't know why I even bother speaking to you sometimes. I already told you my sister's not here. Weren't you listening?"

"Oh, sorry. I guess I forgot."

Unlocking the door, Madoka ushered him into the living room. "Kasuga-kun?"

"Hmm?"

"Could you wait for me for a while? I... I just don't want to be alone tonight."

"Sure, Ayukawa." _Alone with her at last..._ _there is a God, after all._

"Thank you. Please help yourself to the fridge. I won't be long." 


	4. Search For A Cure! Ojiichan Will Help!

**Search for a Cure! Ojii-chan Will Help!**

Kyousuke Kasuga watched as Madoka Ayukawa descended the stairs of her home, rubbing her hair briskly with a towel. She was clad in a fluffy pink bathrobe that reached down to her knees, and wore furry cream-colored slippers with closed toes on her feet.

"Sorry I kept you waiting, Kasuga-kun," she said as she stepped off the last landing. "Oh, it feels so good to be a girl again." She stretched her arms out and groaned contentedly, letting the towel dangle from a hand.

Kyousuke swallowed as he saw the neck of her bathrobe open and reveal a hint of cleavage. "It's no problem, Ayukawa, honestly."

Madoka disappeared into the kitchen. "Are you hungry, Kasuga-kun?" she called. "I can whip something up quickly, if you'd like."

Kyousuke got up from the chair he'd been sitting in while waiting for her to finish showering and went into the kitchen. "Only if you'll eat with me," he said as he rounded the doorway.

Ayukawa was standing in front of the electric stove, back turned to him. Her towel was draped across a towel rack beside the appliance. "Deal," she said, and began to remove her bathrobe.

Kyousuke's eyes grew large. He felt his cheeks burn and quickly turned around. "W-what are you doing, Ayukawa?"

"Hmm? What do you mean? Oh!" He heard her soft-edged, tinkling laugh, and she said, "I'm so sorry. I'm really not used to having visitors, so I wasn't thinking of what I was doing. It's okay, you can look."

Kyousuke peeked hesitantly over his shoulder and saw that she had been wearing a low-cut, round-necked yellow t-shirt and short blue shorts with white piping underneath the bathrobe. As Madoka placed the offending bathrobe on the rack above her towel, he chuckled sheepishly, turning around and saying, "What was I thinking?" _Darn it, Ayukawa, you're teasing me again..._

Several minutes later, Madoka was seated at the dining room table with Kyousuke beside her. She had cooked up a large omelette and an abbreviated version of her special curry rice, which Kyousuke was digging into with gusto.

"How is it?" she asked him.

He swallowed and smiled at her before replying. "It's good!"

"I'm glad you like it," she said as she swallowed a forkful of scrambled egg. "Thanks for keeping me company.

"It's my pleasure, Ayukawa, really."

"I guess I shouldn't keep you much longer. It's getting pretty late."

"You don't need to worry about that. It's Saturday tomorrow, remember? We don't have half-day duties because of the mess our transferring to Furinkan caused."

"Yeah, but your father must be worrying about you."

"I can call him up and tell him I'm here."

Madoka smiled at his persistence in wanting to stay with her. Not that she minded. She just didn't want to get blamed for keeping Kyousuke out so late. "Okay. You can use the phone in the living room."

When they had finished eating and cleaning up the dishes, Kyousuke called home. Madoka watched as he spoke to his family. It was easy to tell whom he was talking to: his face had turned apoplectic first (that had to be Kurumi on the other end, and she was most likely teasing him about being alone with her, judging from the words he was yelling into the receiver), then relieved and respectful (that was probably his father).

He hung up and turned to face her. "I've got good news for you!"

"Oh?" She leaned back against the living room couch. "What is it?"

"My grandparents called and said they'd be visiting tomorrow. Want to drop by? They might be able to help with your condition."

Madoka nodded. "If it's not too much trouble. I don't want to impose myself on your family."

Kyousuke waved away her concern. "Don't worry about that. I'm sure Ojii-chan will be happy to help us." _Particularly since he likes to ogle you so much_, he thought, grimacing inwardly.

"'Help us?' You mean 'help me,' don't you, Kasuga-kun?"

Kyousuke stared at her. "No, Ayukawa, I mean 'help us.' I'm not going to let you go through this alone."

Madoka looked away from him and tried to blink away the sudden stinging in her eyes. "Thanks, Kasuga-kun." She had found out the hard way that she could trust few of the people that she had met, and was thankful that Fate had set Kyousuke in her path that fateful morning on top of the hundred-step stairs. He may have proven himself physically weak and indecisive in the past, and not that good at expressing his emotions, but she knew she could trust him, as she never could have trusted the various boys—and men—in her life before.

"I never told you..." she began. Her voice came to a sudden stop as she found him suddenly standing beside her, looking down at her with a strange and intense expression that sent a shiver down her spine.

"Ayukawa..." Slowly he sat down on the couch beside her, and took her shoulders in his hands. His fingers were pressing into her flesh with a touch that burned, and Madoka felt her heart flutter like a bird trapped in a cage as his face came closer to hers. She closed her eyes.

Just then the phone rang.

She instantly drew back from Kyousuke, a self-conscious blush on her cheeks. She heard his clipped "Chikuso!" as the instrument continued its insistent beeping. She stood and went to answer it.

Kyousuke watched her go with regret. It was always like this. He'd be near to kissing Ayukawa, and then something would happen that would break their intimate moment together. He wouldn't attempt it again, at least not for tonight. The mood was irretrievably ruined for him; how much more so it would be for a girl whose moods were as mercurial as hers.

She spoke a moment, then stretched out the receiver. "It's Manami."

Kyousuke went to her side and took the device from her. "Yes, Manami-chan? Yes? Of course. Couldn't you have waited for me to come home to tell me that?" he asked petulantly. "What?" he exclaimed. She saw him blush. "Of course not! Why would I do that? It's not as if Ayukawa would let me anyway..." His indignant voice died away, and he turned to Madoka with an embarrassed grin. "Okay. Yeah, I'll be home as soon as I can. Bye."

Madoka raised an eyebrow. "What was that all about, Kasuga-kun? I wouldn't let you do what?"

"Oh, Manami just reminded me of my trading chores with her and to go home as soon as I could," Kyousuke replied. "She told me she had to make sure, since she, uh, didn't know if I was planning to stay the night here." A slight flush appeared on his face. "I told her you wouldn't let me do that anyway."

To Madoka he looked so cute standing there embarrassed that she couldn't help teasing him. "You mean you'd like to?"

Kyousuke hung his head, and his face turned five shades of a lovely crimson deeper. "Of course not! That is, I'd like to, but...well, you know, you're all alone here..."

"And you're not sure you won't do something _ecchi,_ are you?"

"Ayukawa..." With that one word, Madoka knew Kyousuke was pleading with her to save him from his own embarrassment.

"That's okay, Kasuga-kun. Maybe some other time. I'm not going to be good company tonight."

"Oh? Why?"

"You know why."

He looked at her suddenly serious face and hoped Ojii-chan would be able to help her. "Are you sure?"

She snorted in friendly exasperation. "Yes, I am. Stop worrying about me. I'm not a baby you have to take care of."

As Kyousuke bade her goodbye and went to the front door, Madoka said, "Kasuga-kun? There's just one thing I can't understand."

"What's that?"

"Why do you think your ojii-chan can help me? Is he a magician of some sort?"

Kyousuke was thankful he finally had a valid excuse to tell her the truth. Or at least, part of it. "Yeah, he is. He knows a lot about that stuff." He twisted the doorknob and opened the heavy slab of oakwood. "Good night, Ayukawa."

"Good night, Kasuga-kun. Take care going home." She smiled at him.

"I will," he said. For a moment he fought the urge to kiss her on the cheek, bowing deeply instead, and left.

oOo

Kyousuke's grandfather scratched his chin with his thumb and the side of his crooked index finger. "Oh, this is bad. Really bad."

"But you can help her, can't you, Ojii-chan?" Kyousuke asked pleadingly, looking at him from the other side of the living room table. He was seated in one chair, while Madoka, who had just arrived a few minutes earlier, was seated in another.

The old man had come late that morning, along with Kyousuke's grandmother. They had popped up unexpectedly in the middle of the Kasugas' living room, bearing a crateful of vegetables fresh from the countryside, and as soon as they had arrived, Kyousuke had called Madoka to come over, and presented her case to his grandparents.

"Can't you just go to Jusenkyo and obtain the water from the Spring of Drowned Girl, Ojii-chan?" the high-schooler asked. He had already asked the question before, but his grandfather had yet to answer it.

"I could, but... I'm not sure about the consequences. Magic like this I haven't seen in a long time. To tell you the truth, I thought it had died out long ago." He sat back into the cushion. "I shall have to ask your grand-uncle about this. Perhaps he can tell me the right way to help you. I might make the problem worse otherwise." His countenance brightened. "Oh, but don't fret too much over it, Madoka-chan. Here, I'll entertain you!" He focused his attention on the ashtray on top of the living room table.

"Ojii-chan!" Kyousuke shouted, diving for the object, knowing his grandfather was about to use his Power indiscriminately again. Clasping his hands around it, he gave his irascible relative a warning look. "Don't juggle this here," he said emphatically, his eyes moving twice in Ayukawa's direction. "You might _frighten someone,_ remember?"

Grandfather looked blankly at him for a second. "Oh, yes, yes, right." He chuckled and scratched the side of his balding head. "Excuse me, please."

Kyousuke stood back up, satisfied his grandparent had gotten the warning, and reseated himself.

Manami entered the room, bearing a tray of sweets and glasses of refreshments. "Here you go," she said, "tea, juice, and cookies for all."

As Manami laid the tray on the living room table and Kyousuke's grandparents availed themselves of the snacks, Madoka leaned over to Kyousuke and whispered in his ear. "How come you're so mean to your grandfather?"

"What? Oh, I don't mean anything by it. That's just how we are with each other, that's all."

"And how can juggling an ashtray ever frighten someone?" the _sukeban_ added with a puzzled expression on her face.

Kyousuke thought fast. "Well, um, Ojii-chan isn't that good with juggling. He could have hit someone with the ashtray, and hurt and frightened them."

"Hmm. If you say so," said Madoka as she looked him in the eyes, doubt still in her voice. She reached for a glass of the juice that Manami had prepared, seeing that Kyousuke's grandparents had already served themselves.

They made chitchat for around half an hour, then Madoka thanked everyone for their time and excused herself, saying she had to go and help her sister shop for baby things. Kyousuke, ever the gallant gentleman, escorted her to the door.

As she stood in the genkan while putting her long-sleeved, thigh-length powder blue coat on, he asked, "You want me to bring you home?"

"No, thanks. I need to be alone. I want to think." She unexpectedly brought a hand up and ran it softly across Kyousuke's right cheek. "Thanks for everything, Kasuga-kun." Then she was out the door.

Kyousuke put a hand on his cheek, feeling her touch still lingering on it. Then, sighing, a hint of a smile blossoming on his face, he closed the door. There was no accounting for Ayukawa's actions. She would blow hot one moment and cold the next; still, he wouldn't have her any other way.


	5. Kyousuke Declares!

**Kyousuke Declares! Putting An End To Madoka's Doubt**

As Kyousuke Kasuga and his sisters began the school week by walking leisurely to the train station that Monday, they had little inkling of the surprise waiting for them when they got there. Leaning casually against the wall by the ticket gate was Madoka, and she was in male form again. Kyousuke recognized her by her the red ribbon in her ponytailed hair and by the look of recognition in her eyes. She was dressed in black pants and shoes, and a long-sleeved white polo shirt with the neck left open.

"Ayukawa!" he called, glad to see her after a Sunday spent too busily doing schoolwork. "What's going on? Why aren't you a girl?" He was promptly shushed by the twins, who found the unwelcome stares of other passers-by directed at them. "Sorry."

Madoka bowed slightly. "My sister used up all the hot water, and I didn't have time to heat any more."

"_Kakkoii_, Madoka-san," said Kurumi. "You look so handsome, I'd chase after you if you were a real guy."

"Kurumi!" said Manami. "You shouldn't tease Ayukawa-sempai like that."

Madoka chuckled. "It's okay, Manami-chan. You know, I'm finding there are advantages to being a guy."

"Such as?" Kyousuke asked, arching an eyebrow. He hoped Madoka wasn't becoming too comfortable being male. That would be disastrous for his romantic intentions.

"Well, there's the fact that most of the _furyou_ are put off by my looks. I guess they're insecure about being laughed at for beating up such an inoffensive pretty boy or something. And for those who do try... I'm learning that this body of mine is a lot stronger when I'm male." She swung an arm and laughed sardonically. "The only problem is, I've been fending off girls since I got here."

Kurumi tittered. "See? I'm not the only one who thinks Madoka-san is handsome."

Kyousuke sighed. He had enough trouble trying to cope with Ayukawa as it was; he didn't need the added complication of rivals—female ones, at that—stirring up things. He wondered just what he'd done in his past that made him deserve this tortuous path in his love life.

"Come on, or we might be late," Manami reminded them. "Where are Komatsu-san and Hatta-san?"

"They were here earlier, but they've gone." Madoka shrugged. "Something about meeting their master Happosai, whatever that means."

"Earlier?" Kyousuke looked at the station clock as they went to the ticket dispensing booth. "What time did you get here, Ayukawa?"

"Five. Why?"

"Eh? Five AM? Why'd you leave the house so early?"

"Like I said, my sister used up all the hot water. I had to escape before she saw me."

"Oh." Kyousuke looked around. "Say, where's Hikaru-chan?"

"She just went to the ladies' room. She'll be back in a minute or two."

True to Madoka's word, the vivacious, energetic blond appeared within a minute with a sulking Yuusaku in tow (he was sulking because Hikaru had blabbed on nonstop about Kyousuke's virtues ever since they had met at the station) and proceeded to stake her entitlement to Darling by hanging on to his neck and cutting off his air supply. It was only the _bishounen_'s gentle remonstration that reminded her to let go of her 'future husband' before he passed out.

Kyousuke gasped for air as Hikaru smiled brightly at him. "Darling, you look all pooped again. Does that mean you want some more of my box lunch?"

"Uh, thanks, Hikaru, but Manami made me one already."

Never one to lose sight of the brighter side of things, Hikaru replied with, "Oh, that's alright then, because I know Manami-chan takes such good care of you, Darling. I wonder if I'll be just as good when we're already married... What am I saying?" She flushed crimson, covered her face with her hands, and shook it side to side with embarrassment-driven gusto. "Kyadakyadakyadakyada!"

"Hikaru-chan, don't get so carried away," Kyousuke chuckled. "We're still too young to be thinking about such things."

They boarded the train without any further incident. Kyousuke was once more pressed against Madoka by the crush of people filling the compartment.

"Sorry, Ayukawa," he grunted as he pushed back against the bothersome mass. "Hey, at least you don't have to worry about me touching you in the wrong places again."

"Speak for yourself, Kasuga-kun. I may be a guy, but I'm still a girl inside, you know." Madoka sent a chill gaze into Kyousuke's eyes that encouraged him to shove all the harder against the people surrounding him.

Some minutes later, he spoke. "Kasuga-kun," he asked while he was preoccupied with keeping his body from contacting hers, "have you heard anything from your ojii-san?"

"Not yet. Don't worry, I'm sure he's working on it now even as we speak." The momentary disappointment on Ayukawa's finely-featured face made him wish that this particular problem was already over and done with. They had managed to surmount so many others by themselves; this was the first time Kyousuke had to call upon his grandfather for help.

Upon disembarking at the train station in Nerima, Madoka let the others pass by so she could have a private word with Kyousuke.

"Hey, Kasuga-kun, can I ask you a question?" he said as they passed under the giant white triangular sign emblazoned with the name of the station in silver. Kyousuke nodded.

"I'm not sure how to put this," he warned him. "If your ojii-chan isn't able to find a cure, will you still... be my friend even though I turn into a guy?"

Kyousuke laughed the question off. "Hey, it's not funny," the _bishounen_ complained.

"Ayukawa. That's silly. Of course I'll be your friend. Why should I let this problem of yours get in the way?"

"Oh, I don't know. You might have... ulterior motives, Kasuga-kun."

Kyousuke had the grace to blush. "Ayukawa, you're so cruel, always wanting to embarrass me." Madoka didn't reply, and thinking he had put his foot in his mouth again, the esper discreetly began to distance himself from her just in case her temper erupted.

The move didn't go unnoticed by the silent _bishounen_. _If I could only ask you what I really want to_, he sent to Kyousuke's back as they picked their way through the throngs of people. The words, never to be said, echoed in his mind. _Will you still love me even though I'm like this? _

oOo

That afternoon Ojii-chan was back, and he called the school-uniformed pair into the living room of the Kasugas' apartment and told Takashi to take Kurumi and Manami out for a while, as he was going to have a serious talk with the couple. The photographer nodded, and the trio got dressed and exited the front door. Ojii-chan waited thirty seconds inside the genkan before yanking the door open. There, just on the other side of the aperture, were the three, caught in the act of pressing their ears against the wood.

"And no eavesdropping!" Ojii-chan said sternly.

"Ahehe." Kurumi chuckled half-heartedly in embarrassment, then waved as she and Manami and their father beat a hasty retreat to the elevator.

Ojii-chan made sure they boarded the conveyance, then closed the door and went back to the living room. Sitting down on the couch, he began by saying, "What I'm about to tell you two should not pass the walls of this room. And I have one condition that you must meet before I begin to tell you what I've found out."

"What is it, Ojii-chan?" asked Kyousuke, his manner eager, his eyes shining in anticipation of finally hearing a solution to Madoka's problem.

"That you tell me the absolute truth when I ask you a question, okay? This is no time for half-truths and lies."

Kyousuke nodded and looked at Madoka, who was sitting beside him. She dipped her head once. "We're all ears, Ojii-chan."

"First of all, I have to tell you what your grand-uncle told me." He turned to Madoka. "It's a good thing you didn't bother to go the Jusenkyo route," he said. "It would have been useless as far as Kyousuke is concerned."

Madoka raised her eyebrows. "Why, Ojii-san?"

"See, there's a little-known clan tradition we have," said Ojii-chan. "We're not supposed to let members of our family have relations with or marry those who have curses as powerful as yours."

"What?" exclaimed Kyousuke. "How come I never knew that?"

"I never needed to tell you about it. You never fell under that restriction until now. If I'm wrong about you two, tell me so we can just go to Jusenkyo and get this over with." Ojii-chan looked at Kyousuke intently. "You do love her, don't you, grandson?"

"I..." Kyousuke watched as his grandfather immediately frowned. "Yes," he whispered, bowing his head. "Yes, I do, Ojii-chan."

Madoka stared at him wide-eyed. "Kasuga-kun..."

"Enough. You two can discuss your feelings later. Let's go on. There's something that can replace the Spring of Drowned Girl in taking care of your curse, Madoka-chan. My cousin told me of a spring a traveler once told him about. It's called the 'Spring of Angel's Drowned Lover.' According to him, it removes curses, but not by replacing them with another."

"Really? That's great!" Kyousuke said as enthusiastically as he could, trying to divert Ayukawa's attention from his declaration.

"Angel's Drowned Lover?" Madoka's face was a study in concentration. "If it's as powerful as its name implies, Ojii-san, why haven't Ranma and the others gone and used it?"

Ojii-chan shrugged. "How should I know? Maybe he and the rest of those afflicted by the curses haven't found out where it is. It's not at Jusenkyo."

"Eh? Then where is it?"

"At the South Pole."

"What?" Madoka and Kyousuke exclaimed in unison.

"Yes, I also reacted like that when your grand-uncle told me," said Ojii-chan with a half-smile. "Long ago, according to the traveler he met, there was a battle between some demons and angels. The angels were helped by some humans, and one of them fell in love with a member of the heavenly host. They chased the demons all over the world, and in the final battle this man was drowned by one of them. The angel wept over his fallen body, and where her tears dropped the Spring formed, her breath at the same time freezing much of the continent of Antarctica." He smirked. "A fanciful story, no doubt, but it's your only chance, Kyousuke, Madoka-chan."

"Wait a minute," said Madoka. "How are we supposed to get to the South Pole?"

Ojii-chan looked at Kyousuke. "Should I tell her, or do you want to be the one?" 


	6. The Day Of Worldly Secrets

**The Day of Worldly Secrets**

Kyousuke slowly shook his head. "I'll be the one, Ojii-chan." He turned to the girl seated beside him. "You see, Ayukawa, we're... we're espers. Me, Ojii-chan, Manami, Kurumi..."

"You're kidding me, Kasuga-kun," Madoka said. "Right?"

Kyousuke shook his head, and his voice when he replied was all seriousness. "No, Ayukawa, I'm not. Do you want me to show you?" Without waiting for her to speak, he extended a hand towards the ashtray on the table, and it rose into the air.

"I... I see." Madoka stared at the floating little brown object. "Excuse me for disbelieving you."

"Oh, that's okay, Madoka-chan," said Kyousuke's grandfather. "Do you want anything? Juice, perhaps? Or a cola?" He pointed in the direction of the kitchen, and Madoka turned to see a can of drink flying out of the kitchen doorway towards her. It landed in her hands. A can of coffee milk.

Kyousuke sniffed as he lowered the ashtray back on the living room table. "Showoff."

"Th-thank you," Madoka stuttered as she opened the can. She took a sip of the cold, tasty liquid to steady her nerves. First the Jusenkyo curse, then that story about a spring at the South Pole, and now this...

"So you see, Madoka-chan, transportation is not a problem." Ojii-chan made an expansive gesture with his hands. "Why, I could bring the three of us there this instant, if you didn't mind freezing to death within the next two minutes or so."

"Ojii-chan..." Kyousuke said, chuckling nervously as a vision of whirling snow and howling winds occupied his mind. "I think we'll pass."

"Anyway, to continue. We'll pass by the American research station of McMurdo first to get the help of a scientist friend of your grand-uncle's. Then, when we get to the Pole, I'll search for the spring's exact location with this." The old man reached into a pocket of the brown pants he was wearing and brought out a funny-looking necklace of tiny silver metal links with a large bronzed feather hanging from it.

"That thing?" said Kyousuke. "It doesn't look very special."

"Hey, Kyousuke, if this doesn't work, it means Madoka-chan will have to use the Jusenkyo spring, and you'll have to part ways with her. Have a little faith, my child. It's all you have left to cling to."

"Sorry, Ojii-chan."

"When we find the spring, you two will have to strip naked and bathe in it."

"What?" exclaimed the two high-schoolers.

"You're not serious, are you, Ojii-chan?" Kyousuke questioned his grandfather. "We'll freeze to death."

"Yeah," agreed Madoka. "And I'm not keen on your grandson seeing me in the nude, Ojii-san." She gave Kyousuke a sidelong look. "He's been acting _ecchi_ enough the past few days already."

"Madoka-chan, it's the only way. The spring will lose its power if it's defiled by your clothing," he explained.

"And how come I've got to bathe in the spring too?" asked Kyousuke. He didn't relish the thought of Madoka seeing him _au naturel._ "I'm not the one with the curse."

"Remember what I told you about the spring not replacing one curse with another? It works by _transferring_ that curse to another recipient, who must be willing to undergo the whole thing. I have designated you as Madoka-chan's recipient for the curse, Kyousuke. Your grand-uncle told me that he's pretty sure it won't take hold on you, since you're a guy and an esper to boot." Ojii-chan looked at his grandson with an amused expression. "Or, if you don't wish to trouble yourself, I could be the one to do it..."

"No way, Ojii-chan," Kyousuke said, sticking his tongue out in disgust. "I'll do it." Remembering Ayukawa sitting beside him, he turned to her. "Uh, that is, if you want me to."

Madoka nodded reluctantly. "If that's what it takes, Kasuga-kun. I don't have a choice anyway."

"My, you're being remarkably calm about all this."

"Hey, after all that's happened to me, I don't think anything else I hear can surprise me anymore."

"Okay, you two. If there aren't any further questions, I'd like you to start preparing." Ojii-chan held out two folded pieces of paper. "Here's some of the things I think we'll be needing. You'd better start scrounging them up. We're leaving tomorrow morning."

Kyousuke's eyebrows shot up. "Tomorrow already? How come?"

"Weather. The forecast is good for tomorrow. I already checked."

"That doesn't leave us much time to prepare, Ojii-san," said Madoka.

"I hope you know what you're getting us into," added Kyousuke.

"I'm pretty sure," said Ojii-chan. "And last but not least, Kyousuke, your grand-uncle said one more thing: the curse probably won't affect you, but the spring might."

"What do you mean?"

"It might take away your powers as well as Madoka-chan's curse. You'll become as ordinary as any other mortal."

"But..." Madoka said, looking helplessly at the boy beside her. "If that's true... I'd rather we not go through with this, Kasuga-kun."

"Don't say that, Ayukawa." Kyousuke impulsively grasped her hands. "All this time I was wondering what I could do to prove that I loved you... How do you think I'd feel if we had to go our separate ways because I selfishly wanted to retain my powers?" He looked her in the eyes. "As long as we're together... then everything's alright."

"Kasuga-kun... you'd do that for me?"

Kyousuke nodded. "That and more, Ayukawa."

Ojii-chan cleared his throat. "Well, if you don't have any other questions for me, I'll go home and pack. I'll be back around six AM. Be ready by then, okay?" As Madoka watched, he vanished from their sight.

Kyousuke looked for a moment at the space his grandfather had occupied. "Well," he said, "we'd better get ready."

"Yeah," agreed Madoka, looking his way. "Uh, Kasuga-kun?"

"Yes?"

"Could you stop holding my hands so tight? They're starting to hurt."

"Oh. Sorry."

Kyousuke let go of her and stood up. "Ayukawa... I guess the jig's up, huh?"

A smile slowly blossomed on Madoka's face as she looked up at him. "In a big way. You are a cheat and a liar, Kasuga Kyousuke-sama." She stood up as well. "And I like that about you. Bye. See you tomorrow." She turned around and started to walk away from him.

"Wait! If you want, you could sleep over here tonight..." Kyousuke suggested, his voice faltering. "It would save you having to walk all the way here tomorrow morning carrying a heavy load."

Madoka considered. "How must that appear to your father and sisters, Kasuga-kun?"

"Heck, don't worry about that. Why, the first time Hikaru stayed overnight here, Manami made a comment about me being a late bloomer..." Kyousuke flinched as he realized he shouldn't have brought Hikaru's name up. It would only remind Madoka of the mess they'd have to deal with when this was all over. "That's when I first came to Koryou, remember?"

"Yeah, how could I forget? You phoned me the next night trying to make some silly excuse for her being here."

"Ayukawa..."

Madoka laughed. "It's all right, Kasuga-kun. I forgave you for that a long time ago. Anyhow, I've got to get going." She put a finger to her lips, then pressed it against his. "_Ja, mata ne_, lover boy," she gibed softly, saying the term in English, winking at him.

After she left, Kyousuke found himself sitting back on the sofa, regarding the empty can of coffee milk still sitting on the living room table. He had finally confessed to her, and she still hadn't made any remark about how she felt about him. Where did that leave him? But still, the way she had laughed and smiled ought to have told him something about her inner feelings... With a sigh, he snatched the can off the table, tossed it in the kitchen wastebasket, and went to his room to prepare for the arduous trip tomorrow.


	7. Kyousuke's Night Of Strange Dreams

**Kyousuke's Night of Strange Dreams**

The ebony-haired girl came back later that night, wearing a pair of snug cutoff jeans, a sleeveless red shirt with an 'Orange Road' logo in front, ankle-length socks, and a pair of worn white laceless canvas-top shoes. She bore a hefty backpack on her sweaty shoulders. Kyousuke took one look at her tired face and quickly stripped her of her load.

"Whoa! What did you put in here?" he said, struggling with the day-glo orange pack. He failed to balance it, and it toppled from his hands onto the floor. "Sorry." He frowned, and the backpack floated into the air, serenely sailing ahead of them as they made their way to the living room.

Manami was there, seated on the couch watching _Minna no Uta_ on TV, the obese family cat Jingoro in her lap. She was dressed in a super-large shirt and spandex tights. Upon seeing Madoka she took Jingoro in her arms, stood up, and bowed. "Welcome to the family, Ayukawa-sempai," she said, smiling shyly. "I'm so glad onii-chan finally confessed to you."

Madoka bowed back. "I still can't believe your entire family are espers, Manami-chan," she said. "Had I known that the first time I met you, I wouldn't have slapped your brother for making me stop smoking."

"That's okay, Ayukawa-sempai. Onii-chan wouldn't have had the guts to do anything to you that time anyway." Manami grinned. "I think he fell for you the first time he met you and got that red straw hat he always keeps in his room."

"Manami-chan!" Kyousuke rumbled. "Instead of shooting your mouth off, why don't you bring this to my room?" The backpack floated closer to the ponytailed girl, who set the struggling Jingoro down on the sofa and pursed her lips.

"Onii-chan, you are such a lazy boy." Manami looked at the backpack, gestured to Kyousuke that she had it, and disappeared with the floating burden down the corridor leading to his room.

"It must be lots of fun being an esper, Kasuga-kun," Madoka commented as she sat down on the couch. Jingoro bestirred himself and climbed onto her lap, yawned, and went back to sleep, curling up in seeming feline contentment as she gently stroked his fur.

"It is, most of the time," Kyousuke admitted, standing beside her. "Sometimes, though, it's a lot more trouble than it's worth. Have you eaten dinner, Ayukawa?"

The aquamarine-eyed girl nodded. "Yes, I have. You?"

"_Un._ Kurumi cooked it, though, so I'm worried I might get an upset stomach later."

He must have said it a little too loudly, because a voice shouted from the kitchen, "I heard that, onii-chan! You're terrible!" Out from the doorway popped the brown-haired twin's head. "Just for that, you be the one to do the dishes!"

"I'm just kidding, Kurumi!" Kyousuke shouted back, chagrined. "Don't worry, I'll do the dishes, like you said."

Kurumi emerged fully from the kitchen, wiping her wet hands on a blue towel. She was wearing a Piyo-Piyo apron, red-and-blue striped t-shirt, and long pale-green corduroy shorts. The first she removed and handed to her brother, the second she smoothed out self-consciously, the third she adjusted a bit. "Thank you, onii-chan." She turned to Madoka and smiled cheerfully. "I'm trying to keep him too busy to do anything _ecchi _to you, Madoka-san," she explained.

Madoka laughed and looked at the now-steaming Kyousuke. "Oh really? Is your brother always like that?"

Kurumi nodded vigorously. "Yeah! In fact, he's been shutting himself in his room a lot lately..." She shrieked and dodged as her incensed brother made a grab for her.

"_Kisama..._" Kyousuke growled as he chased her around the room. "You..."

"I was just kidding, onii-chan!" Kurumi giggled as she ran down the corridor to the bedroom she shared with Manami. Reaching its sanctuary, she stuck her tongue out and shouted "Not!" at him as she slammed the door in his face, determined to get the last word in.

Kyousuke stared at the door in irritation for a moment, cut off the uncharitable thought that he wished his younger sister would grow horns like Lum—or perhaps better, like a water buffalo's—and stalked back to the living room.

Madoka was still laughing. "Your sisters are a handful, aren't they, onii-chan?"

"Yeah." With a grunt he sat down beside her.

"What's all the ruckus about?" came a voice, and they turned to see Takashi Kasuga standing at the entrance to the corridor which led to the genkan. "Oh, good evening, Madoka-chan."

Madoka put Jingoro aside, stood up, and bowed. "Good evening, otou-san."

"Oyaji! It's Manami and Kurumi again! They're making me look bad in front of Ayukawa!"

"Oh?" Takashi strode up to his son and patted him on the shoulder. He leaned towards their visitor and whispered in a confidential tone, "Don't worry, Madoka. Only half of what the twins say about their brother is true. Except for anything prurient."

"Oyaji!" For Kyousuke, having his own father joining in and teasing him was the last straw. He tackled Takashi, and they spent a minute or two struggling on the floor, yelling such things as "Take back what you said!", "No, I won't!", "_Korakorakorakora!_", and the like. They only stopped when the family patriarch got an armlock around his son's neck.

"Truce?" he said. Kyousuke nodded, panting.

"Truce."

Takashi gave him a noogie, rubbing his knuckles against Kyousuke's head, and let him go. The photographer stood up. "Honestly, Madoka-chan, my boy's a good soul. He just needs a little curbing sometimes. Welcome to the family."

Madoka, who had been standing and giggling all the while the fracas was going on, bowed again. "Thank you, Kasuga-otousama."

Takashi smiled at her. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. I've got a lot of work to do. Good luck with your trip tomorrow. Oh, and Kyousuke?"

"What, old man?" the sixteen-year-old esper grunted, still displeased with all the taunting he had been subjected to.

"Remember to use the Power whenever necessary to protect your girlfriend and your grandfather, okay?" With that last reminder, Takashi retreated to the sanctity of his bedroom.

Kyousuke stood up from the floor and gritted his teeth. "Why, oh why, did I get gifted with a family like this?" he asked, shaking his head. "It's like being given a root canal on your birthday."

"Well, I think you've got a lovely family, Kasuga-kun." Madoka sighed. "You should at least be thankful they're always around to help you. Not like mine."

"Ayukawa..."

"Oh, where may I sleep tonight?"

"Huh? Oh, you can use my bedroom. I've already prepared it for you."

"Then where will you sleep?"

"Here on the sofa. Don't worry," he added as he saw she was about to protest, "it's very comfortable."

Madoka sat back down on the sofa, careful not to disturb the cat, who had somehow managed to maintain his alliance with the brother of Death though all the commotion. "Kasuga-kun?"

"Yes?"

Madoka idly toyed with strands of Jingoro's cream fur, flicking it back and forth with a finger. "Did you mean what you said earlier?"

"What part of it?" Kyousuke asked, even though he knew full well what she was referring to.

"Do you really love me? Or did you just say that so your grandfather would help me?"

"Ayukawa... I wouldn't have said that if I didn't mean it."

Madoka let out a puff of air, and a sad smile appeared momentarily on her face. "And here I am always being so unkind to you. I'm sorry about that, Kasuga-kun."

Kyosuke sat down beside her, away from Jingoro, and watched her hand move over the sleeping cat, lightly caressing his paws and his ears. "You're not unkind to me, Ayukawa. At least, most of the time you aren't."

"But I am, Kasuga-kun. Don't massage the truth just to try and be nice to me. I feel so ashamed of myself, now that I find myself turning to you for help. I... I don't know how I can ever repay you or your ojii-san."

"Let's worry about the procedure working first, okay? But Ayukawa?" Kyousuke said tentatively. He was worried she'd think he was taking advantage of her indebtedness to him. "There _is_ one thing you can do to repay me."

Madoka turned and looked at him steadily with her green eyes. "Name it. Anything."

_Anything?_ Kyousuke gulped. He had a sudden lascivious feeling in his loins. His father's voice echoed in his mind. _Only half true... except for anything prurient._

"No way!" he exclaimed to himself, surprising Madoka and destroying the mood building between them. "I'm much better than that!"

"What on earth are you talking about, Kasuga-kun?" Madoka demanded of him. Often piqued by his strange actions and utterances, this behavior of his was nothing new to her.

"What? Oh, sorry! Sorry, Ayukawa! I got carried away thinking about something again." _Yeah, that's it. Your lips, the way your hair smells, your gorgeously soft breasts..._ _Kasuga, you idiot! _

"Anyway," said Kyousuke as he forced his train of thought away from that dangerous set of tracks, "as I was saying, there's one thing you could do to repay me."

"What is it?"

Kyousuke swallowed. "Tell me, Ayukawa. Tell me how you feel about me. I–I realize how embarrassing it must sound for me, a guy, to be asking you this, but you already know how I feel about you... I just have to know. I just want to hear it from your lips."

Madoka laughed softly. "Kasuga-kun, isn't it obvious?" She pinched the collar of his uniform between her fingers and drew him closer to her. "Maybe this will clear the air..." She closed her eyes, and Kyousuke watched her moist, soft-looking reddish-pink lips pucker as they came nearer to his.

_ Thank you, oh mighty Kami-sama! _he thought gleefully. In his eagerness to taste his forbidden fruit, Kyousuke overbalanced himself and pushed against Madoka, who, not wanting to rush their first kiss together, leaned back away from him—and onto Jingoro, who reacted very badly to the roughly eighty kilos of human deadweight that squashed him and woke him up.

Madoka let out a yelp as the obese cat, startled, slashed out with his claws and caught one of her fingers. Kyousuke quickly shooed the animal off the sofa. It landed on the floor and looked back at them with a much-put-out expression on its feline face.

"Bad cat! Bad cat, Jingoro!" Kyousuke scolded. "Ayukawa, did he hurt you?"

"Just a little scratch," she replied, showing him the tip of her left-hand middle finger.

"Wait here." Kyousuke went to the bathroom and took out the family medical kit, then returned to the black-haired girl, cleaned her scratch with alcohol, and put a band-aid on her finger.

"There! All done!" he said brightly. Then he noticed Ayukawa giggling. "Hey, what's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," said Madoka, continuing to giggle. "You remind me of a father. 'Oh, be careful, or you might hurt yourself!'"

"Che!" Kyousuke said truculently. "What is it today? Is the moon full outside or did my family pay you to tease me too?" Seeing his exasperated expression only made Madoka break out in laughter.

"Fine! I've had it up to here!" Kyousuke stood up and began to stomp off to his room. "Oh, wait. You're using my room tonight." He stood uncertainly for a moment and scratched his head. "Then could you please leave so I can go to sleep?"

"Sure, Kasuga-kun." Madoka stood up and walked to him. "_Oyasumi,_" she whispered, and kissed his cheek. Kyousuke felt the warmth of her lips on his skin, and had to stop himself from grabbing Ayukawa by the shoulders and kissing her madly.


	8. Kyousuke's Night Of More Strange Dreams

**Kyousuke's Night of More Strange Dreams**

Something made Kyousuke Kasuga stir from his sleep. His slumber had been dreamless and very light; he was much too anxious about tomorrow to relax completely. For an hour or two he had just lain on the couch trying to think of the various emergencies that could happen tomorrow, and how to counter them.

He opened an eye, and saw a figure sitting in one of the living room chairs, which had been placed beside the window. It appeared to be looking out at the stars.

Kyousuke sat up slowly on the couch. "Ayukawa?" he called, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. There was no answer. He got up and made his way to the seated figure, and saw that it was indeed his visitor, only she was asleep, slumped against the chair's comfortable backrest, and was again in male form.

He scratched the side of his head in puzzlement, then hunted around for the red glow of the clock beside the telephone. Almost five AM. Gently he placed a hand on Ayukawa's shoulder and shook him awake.

The seated figure opened its eyes. "Kasuga-kun?" it croaked in its low voice. "What time is it?"

"Almost time for Ojii-chan to arrive. Better get up and get ready."

"_Hai._ Oh, I made some coffee if you want some. It's on the dining table." Madoka sat up and stretched out his arms. "I hope your family will excuse me for puttering around the kitchen. I made breakfast," she explained.

"Really?" said Kyousuke. "You shouldn't have troubled yourself."

"It's no trouble at all. Besides, Kasuga-kun, we're going to be facing the Antarctic cold in a few hours. You should eat as much as you can to provide your body with energy." The _bishounen_ stood up.

"Yeah," Kyousuke agreed. "Ayukawa, why are you like that again? And why did you sleep in the armchair?"

"Hmm? Oh, I just felt like experiencing this one last time. It's not every day a girl gets to experience life from the point of view of a boy. And as for me sleeping here... well, I felt safer with Kasuga-kun the esper around to guard me." He smiled bashfully at Kyousuke.

They went to the kitchen, where Kyousuke found the entire table set out, and a variety of breakfast foods on the table.

"Wow, I'm amazed you did all this. Didn't you sleep at all?"

"Couple of hours, I think. I was too nervous to sleep much."

Kyousuke sat down and Madoka poured him a cup of coffee, then sat down himself. They ate heartily and silently, trying to prepare themselves for the upcoming journey.

"Hey," he asked, "does your sister know about this?"

"No. I told her I'd be staying over at Kuonji-san's because I had a school project to finish with her. And I told Hikaru-chan the same thing."

"But... what happens if Hikaru-chan meets Ukyou in school and she finds out you were lying?"

Madoka dropped his fork and looked at Kyousuke, his eyes flashing. "Hey, I can't pack for a polar trip and think up the perfect excuse at the same time, okay? I'll deal with it later."

Kyousuke bent his head. "Sorry."

Madoka sighed. "No, I'm sorry, Kasuga-kun. I'm just so nervous about the whole thing. I feel I'll fall to pieces just thinking about it. Besides," she said with a feeble smile and an equally feeble attempt at laughing the whole thing off, "the thought of you seeing me in the nude makes me very uncomfortable, even if it's something that has to be done."

"Oi, Ayukawa, how the heck do you think I feel about you seeing me naked? I mean, at least you're a girl, and girls' bodies don't show what they're feeling at the time." Kyousuke blushed furiously.

"You dolt," said Madoka. "When I bathe in the spring I'm going to have to be a guy, remember? So you don't have to worry about me seeing you in the nude so much. I've seen it all before, Kasuga-kun." Madoka gulped and looked down at himself. "But it doesn't mean I've gotten used to it yet."

The finished their meal in silence, cleared their plates off the table, and began to gather their things in the living room.

"There," said Kyousuke as he piled his own backpack on top of the other stuff they were bringing along. "Now all we have to do is get dressed."

Madoka scooped up a tied-together assembly of metal rods and plastic sheeting. "What's this, Kasuga-kun?"

"Hmm? Oh, that's a tent I borrowed from Akane-chan yesterday. I told her it was going to be used by you, and she was only too happy to oblige." Kyousuke's cousin, tempestuous as a hurricane, was also an esper and had a huge crush on Madoka. When he had told her of her favorite's problem, she had gushed and said, "Oh, I'll take her in any form she is! Guy _or_ girl! I'm sure she's just as wonderful either way!"

"I know it's a tent. I mean, why are you bringing it along? We're not staying that long, are we?"

"Well, I thought we might, but the real reason I brought it along—" Kyousuke swallowed "—was so you could have somewhere private to change in."

Madoka looked at him for a moment. "That's... quite touching, Kasuga-kun. Thank you." For the second time in a few hours, he walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek. Even though she was a guy right now, Kyousuke found himself wishing she'd fall more into the habit of doing so.

But this time, instead of pulling away from him, Madoka's face remained near Kyousuke's. Eyes of a liquid light blue looked at him as the _bishounen_ said, "_Neh,_ Kasuga-kun, I hope you don't mind," just before he plunged forward and locked lips with Kyousuke.

Kyousuke's eyes grew wide, and he impulsively brought his hands up to push the guy kissing him away. As his palms landed on Madoka's chest, however, her female instincts took over, and a cry sounded in his throat as he jerked away from Kyousuke and slapped him.

Kyousuke's hand flew up to his cheek, and he eyed the _bishounen _standing before him warily.

Madoka, taken aback at his own reaction, put a hand to his lips. "Kasuga-kun! I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's my fault. I should've remembered not to put my hands there." He sighed bitterly. _I knew I'd never be able to kiss her anyway, not without something coming along and ruining everything._ "Why'd you kiss me, Ayukawa? You should have known I'd try to push you away."

"I'm sorry, Kasuga-kun. I just wanted to thank you for being so thoughtful." He turned away. "I guess I didn't realize you'd act so strongly against me kissing you."

Kyousuke was silent for a moment, and they both stood still like statues in some urban tableau. "That's because you're a boy right now. But you know what?"

"What?"

"If you want, we could try again."

Madoka looked back at him. "Are you sure?"

Kyousuke nodded. "It's you anyway. What does it matter if you're a guy or a girl? Just please... don't surprise me."

"Alright." Slowly, hesitantly, Madoka walked back to him. As he was about to kiss Kyousuke, however, the latter raised a hand.

"Hey, this time, let me do the kissing, okay?"

Madoka nodded shyly. "Okay."

Kyousuke took a deep breath and brought his lips down on Madoka's, and his arms went around his _bishounen_ companion in a gentle hug. Madoka's hands lighted on his shoulders, and they forged on, each of them savoring the strange new sensations they were feeling.

Unbeknownst to them, a pair of heads were stealthily peeking out of the corner of the corridor entrance leading to the various bedrooms.

Kurumi nudged Manami. "I win the bet, Manami-chan," she whispered. "Pay up. Ten thousand yen, like we agreed." They had been awakened by the noises coming from the kitchen and had gone to investigate. Kurumi had emerged from the passageway just in time to see her brother and Madoka-_bishounen_ kissing, and, immensely shocked at the sight, ducked hastily back behind cover, taking the still-unknowing Manami with her. They had remained quiet and watched everything, from the slap to the second kiss, and knew instinctively that if they at any point had chosen to interrupt things, both members of the couple would probably have died from the deep humiliation.

"Alright, Kurumi, I'll pay you later." Manami had already had an inkling she would lose when she bet against her twin that her older brother wouldn't be able to resist Ayukawa-sempai, no matter what form she was in. _Aniki, I'll get you for this, you made me lose money..._

Kyousuke broke off the kiss and looked Madoka in the eyes. "Ayukawa... I don't know what to say..."

Madoka knew far less. He simply sighed and put his arms around Kyousuke's upper back, fingers bracing against his shoulders, then put the side of his head on the esper's chest.

Kyousuke closed his eyes. After wanting to hold the _sukeban_ for so long, yet being forced apart from her every time, the upwelling of emotion in his heart was almost too much for him to bear. He wanted to cry.

"Ayukawa... I lo–"

"Hush," whispered Madoka. "Don't say it. Not yet, Kasuga-kun."

There was a moment of dead silence. "Why?"

"Hikaru-chan."

At Madoka's mention of her best friend, Kyousuke's grip tightened. He shut his eyes tighter and kissed the fragrant hair so near his face. _Why did you have to bring that up now, Ayukawa? Why, when I was just starting to think everything would be alright between us now? _

"Is that," he asked, "why you won't tell me what I want to hear from you?"

His transformed love interest didn't reply, and the silence gave him the answer he had known all along was there.

The mentioning of Hikaru seemed to pull Madoka away from Kyousuke. Even though they were at long last in each other's arms, it suddenly seemed that a wide gulf had yawned between them, and try as he might, the young esper could find no way to bridge the wide gap. Now, more than ever, the tears threatened to give away his anguish and loneliness.

There was a small noise from just beyond the passageway to the bedrooms, and it roused Kyousuke from his melancholy. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Who's there? Manami? Kurumi?" he called. "Come out. I heard you."

Madoka wanted to pull away from him, but Kyousuke held him fast. "Kasuga-kun," he protested in a whisper, "let me go!"

"No," Kyousuke said firmly. "You're staying right where you are. Appearances be damned."

"Kasuga-kun..."

Manami suddenly appeared at the passageway entry, propelled out of hiding by a shove from the embarrassed Kurumi, who didn't want to have to face her onii-chan at such an intimate moment. She knew Manami was better at dealing with their older brother at such times, and so preemptively pushed her into the open to do just that.

"Uhm, er, hi, onii-chan, Ayukawa-sempai," Manami stammered, giving her still-hidden twin a glare with her brown eyes.

"How long have you been watching?" Kyousuke asked her.

"Long enough. Oh, don't give me that look, please, onii-chan!" she wailed. "It was all Kurumi's fault!" She reached over and dragged her co-conspirator out of hiding.

"What?" sputtered Kurumi as she came out into the open. "You also wanted to watch, don't deny it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"I said did not!"

"Well I say you did too!"

Kyousuke broke into the squabble with, "I swear, I'm going to Jusenkyo to find the Spring of Drowned Man just so I can throw you two in it. You do know it's bad manners to spy on other people when they're doing something intimate, don't you?"

Manami bowed her head and said penitently, "I'm sorry, onii-chan. It's just so strange, watching you and Ayukawa-sempai kissing when she's like that." She gestured towards Madoka. "I never thought you'd have the guts to do it. Anyway, I wish to apologize for spying on you," she continued more formally. "And Kurumi does too." She glanced at her twin and nudged her in the ribs with an elbow.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry too, onii-chan, Madoka-san."

Kyousuke finally released Madoka, who chose to bow and gesture towards the kitchen. "If you'd like," he said in his throaty contralto, as much as to inform the twins as divert attention from himself and Kyousuke, "I made breakfast for everyone. Please, help yourselves."

The twins' expressions brightened. "Really? Thank you!" They bowed and were off, racing to the dining table to feed their considerable appetites.

"Those two," Kyousuke grumbled. "I'm sorry if they embarrassed you, Ayukawa."

"It's all right," said Madoka. He chuckled. "I'm sure they didn't mean anything by it. It must have been uncomfortable for them to watch their brother kissing another guy. Let them be."

Kyousuke's expression turned contemplative. "It's strange," he said quietly. "I thought I'd feel much worse kissing you like this, but I've found out that I'm wrong."

"I... well then, I'm glad you think that way, Kasuga-kun." Madoka came to stand by him. "Back when had that little discussion on the bus... you know, I really was thinking you were chasing me only for my body."

"I won't lie to you, Ayukawa. That's a reason why. But not the only one." Kyousuke looked at him and smiled. "Certainly not the most important one."

There was a noise, and they turned around to see the stocky, mustachioed figure of Ojii-chan, dressed in winter gear and bearing a large backpack, appear behind them. He momentarily sought his bearings, then saw the couple and nodded in greeting. "Good morning. Oi, Kyousuke, Madoka, why aren't you dressed?"

"Maybe you'd want to eat a bit while we change," suggested Kyousuke after bowing, taking his grandfather's pack from him and setting it on the living room table. "It'll take us just a few minutes."

"Right, I will." Ojii-chan walked into the kitchen, and after a few seconds of talking to the twins—who were already busily consuming their appropriately-sized second helpings—began to scold them for not waking their father up. Kyousuke heard Kurumi protesting as he went to his room to get his winter clothing so he could change in the bathroom. He was a bit sad inside that his first kiss with Madoka was with her as a guy. Fate, it seemed to him, really was a fickle mistress.


	9. At The Bottom Of The World

**An Icy Addventure! Kyousuke, Madoka, and Ojii-chan At The Bottom Of The World**

"Are you sure we're heading in the right direction?" Kyousuke asked as they surveyed the oppressive darkness around the rumbling Snow-Cat. The tracked vehicle was moving along slowly, feeling its way through the ice, heading away from McMurdo Station, into the polar night.

"Well, if we were headed the wrong way, we'd probably be in the water now," said his grandfather, also looking out at the months-long twilight. "It looks so cold outside."

"Quiet, you two," snapped the bespectacled lady driving the Snow-Cat. She, like everyone else, was bundled up in thick, insulated clothing, and the thrown-back hood of her coat revealed a mass of fiery red hair done up in an austere bun at the top of her head. "I need to listen to the outside world."

Kyousuke and his grandfather shut up, but after a few minutes of enduring the silence, they just had to start talking again.

"Hausmann-sensei," said Kyousuke, "it must be really difficult to stand this darkness. I don't think I could, and I've only been here a couple of hours."

Katherine Hausmann, marine biologist, looked back and smiled a little. "You get used to it, Kyousuke. My work doesn't take it into account."

"What is it that you do exactly, Ms. Hausmann?" asked Madoka in his halting English. He was seated, along with Kyousuke, in the rear of the vehicle, while Ojii-chan rode up front, the strange little necklace in his hand.

"I study the glycoproteins of the fish that live in the waters here," the scientist answered. "I'm thinking they might have applications in human medicine."

Kyousuke leaned forward and made a confused "Huh?" noise.

Switching back to Japanese, the scientist explained. "Some of the fish here produce what is essentially a natural antifreeze. It helps them live in these cold temperatures without turning into popsicles. I study that and the other ways they've adapted to living here."

"How can that help people?" asked Kyousuke.

"I'm thinking along the lines of cryogenic medicine, and how to prevent cell injury caused by water crystallization. If we could solve that, we could put people in suspended animation by freezing them, and conceivably wake them up tens, even hundreds of years later. It's very advanced work," she added, a trace of pride in her voice.

"Ah, Hausmann-sensei, it's just as my cousin said," said Ojii-chan, smiling. "You're so wrapped up in your studies, you haven't had the time to look for a boyfriend."

The redhead looked at the old man seated beside her and laughed. "A boyfriend? At my age? You've got to be kidding me." She was in her late forties. "You tell that cousin of yours that I haven't changed my opinion of him, or of men in general. You lot are all posturing fuddy-duddies. Especially you Japanese men."

"I knew there was something I liked about her," Kyousuke heard Madoka say, a quiet mirth in the altered voice.

For a moment the teenaged esper thought his grandfather was going to take offense at the _gaikoku-jin's_ statement. Ojii-chan gave Katherine Hausmann an amused look. "You're right. Most of the time we are, but I believe women are no better."

"Huh. I'm sure you think that's true." Katherine turned her attention back to the trackless wasteland outside the Snow-Cat's windows. "You remind me a lot of your cousin."

"How did you two meet?" asked Madoka, again in English. He was pouncing on every chance to exercise a skill which lately had been rusting away, unused.

"We met a couple of years ago, when I was hiking and got lost in the valley and wandered into his cave," the scientist replied in Japanese. She too, like Madoka, was glad of the chance to practice speaking a foreign language. "He gave me shelter for a couple of days, then brought me back to the city by teleporting me there. That's how I know your family are espers, Kyousuke."

Kyousuke looked at his grandfather. "And I thought Ojii-chan was terrible in keeping the family secret."

The balding man chuckled. "Kyousuke, when you get as old as he is, you are afforded certain privileges, like revealing the clan secret to anyone you wish to. Anyhow, I believe Hausmann-sensei here will keep her mouth shut."

"Oi," Katherine said, "who'd believe me anyway?"

Madoka, who had been quietly listening to the exchange, looked back out the Snow-Cat's rear window. "Excuse me, but shouldn't this be far enough?"

The scientist looked briefly at the large, curved rearview mirror mounted outside her door. "Oh, I don't see the lights of the base anymore. This should be safe enough, I think."

Kyousuke's grandfather looked back and nodded. "Right," he concurred. "Kyousuke, sit back in your seat. Brace yourselves, everybody. Here we go."

There was a brief buzz in the frigid air, and the boxy red-and-white vehicle disappeared into the darkness of the eternal Antarctic winter.

oOo

"Yes, this is it," Ojii-chan called, his voice muffled by the wind and his balaclava.

He was standing in the beam of the Snow-Cat's headlights, gloved right hand stretched out in front of him, and the little silver necklace with the bronzed feather in his hand was pointing stiffly downwards, quivering like a living thing.

"Where's the spring?" Kyousuke asked in worry. "There's nothing but snow and ice here, Ojii-chan."

"Why, under this, of course," replied the old man. "You didn't think we'd find it just waiting for us, did you?" Ojii-chan waved his grandson away. "Get back. I'm going to try and expose it."

The old man pocketed the necklace and turned around. He signaled for Katherine to move the Snow-Cat back. The driver nodded, and the ungainly vehicle rolled backwards, gray smoke pouring from its exhaust stacks, until Ojii-chan signaled for it to stop.

Kyousuke and Madoka had come to stand by one another, watching as the old man went and stood still some distance away from the spot where the necklace had indicated the spring was.

"Kasuga-kun... it's so cold. I haven't felt this cold since Hikaru-chan and I went climbing in Kanegawa three years ago."

"Don't worry, Ayukawa. I'm sure we won't be standing long in this miserable icebox for much longer." Kyousuke gave him a brave smile, one the _bishounen_ returned,. Encouraged, he put an arm around his companion's shoulders. Madoka didn't rebuff him; instead he settled against Kyousuke's side.

There was a loud crack, and the ground in front of Kyousuke's grandfather suddenly gained a sunken, candied appearance. Kyousuke's mouth fell open as a gigantic white plug began to rise out of the Antarctic ice.

Madoka stared in wonder as the mass continued to rise into the air. "Awesome..." he breathed.

"Yeah..." Kyousuke whispered in agreement. "I've never seen Ojii-chan exert this much Power before. I hope he's okay."

When it was all done, a cylinder of ice around twenty feet in length and ten feet across was hovering in the night air, and a similarly-sized hole had been created in the ground beneath it. Kyousuke's grandfather made a pushing gesture with his arms, and the huge block sailed away into the darkness, to land with a rumbling crash a long distance away. Then he sank to his knees.

"Ojii-chan!" Kyousuke yelled. He ran to the old man, Madoka following close behind him.

Reaching his grandfather's side, Kyousuke bent down and spoke. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes," the old man panted. "I got winded for a while. Go see if I've exposed the spring, will you?"

The pair went to peer over the edge of the newly-formed crater. "I can't see anything, Ojii-chan," reported Kyousuke. "It's too dark."

"Well, then, it's a good thing I thought to bring these along," said a voice, and Kyousuke and Madoka turned around to see the redhead scientist assisting Ojii-chan up. She had a pair of long poles in her hands, with large lights attached at their tips.

"Thank you, Hausmann-san," wheezed Ojii-chan as he got to his feet. "I knew coming to you for help was the right thing to do."

"Don't mention it. Now, let me set up these lights, and we'll see what there is to see."

After a few minutes of positioning the devices at the edge of the hole and running a long electrical cable back to the idling Snow-Cat, Katherine threw a switch on the base of each of the poles. The crater was instantly bathed in a yellow sodium glow, and they all gasped.

At the bottom of the hole Kyousuke's grandfather had excavated was a pool of glass. At least, it looked like glass, so clear it was and so transparent, unlike the air-bubble-filled whiteness of the ice around it. Kyousuke gazed in awe at the slick sheen coming off its surface.

"A pool of angel's tears, huh?" he said to Madoka. Madoka-kun turned to him, a smiliar expression of amazed wonder on his face, and nodded slowly. "Spring of Angel's Drowned Lover." _How appropriate for you, my kimagure na tenshi._

The scientist, who was standing behind them, peering over them at the insides of the depression, suddenly wailed. "Oh, no! The water's all frozen! How are you going to bathe in it?"

"I'll take care of that," Kyousuke's grandfather reassured her. "Kyousuke, Madoka-chan, I think it's time for you two to prepare."

"Yes, Ojii-san," Madoka said, and he turned away from the hole and began to walk to the Snow-Cat. "Come on, Kasuga-kun."

As the pair plodded off, Katherine knelt down by Ojii-chan. She watched as he peered intently into the hole at the frozen mass within it. "Just what are you planning to do, Kasuga-jiisan?"

"Melt the water, of course." The old man sighed gustily, vapor coming out of his mouth. He rubbed his moustache through his balaclava. "I haven't used so much Power in a long time. Hausmann-san, if anything happens to me, please take care of my grandson and his girlfriend."

"Ah, don't talk that way," the biologist pleaded. "You're their only hope now, Ojii-san."

At her words, Ojii-chan seemed to puff up and gather new strength. "You're right. I can't fail them now. Kyousuke isn't powerful enough to do this on his own."

"You should have brought your cousin along to help."

"Hah." Ojii-chan laughed. "You know that stuck-up cave-dweller would never agree to go out to a place like this, even if it was for his grandnephew. He hates cold places, remember? They make his bones ache." The old esper winced a little. "Like mine are doing, right now. Still... we of the old generation must take care of the new, until they're able to fend for themselves. After all, they're our only legacy in this world."


	10. A Transformation And A Vision!

**A Transformation And A Vision! Madoka's A Girl Again!**

Meanwhile, Kyousuke was standing outside the Snow-Cat's driver's door, waiting patiently for Madoka to finish shedding his clothes. He wondered nervously how the beautiful boy would look and how they'd manage to get to from the vehicle to the crater.

The door of the tall vehicle opened, and the raven-haired boy stepped out onto the steel runner covering its bulldozer-like tracks.

Kyousuke "Huh?" blew a cloud of steam from his mouth. "Why haven't you undressed, Ayukawa?"

"I already have, Kasuga-kun," said Madoka. "I just took off my undies. I'll get rid of all this just before we go into the spring."

Kyousuke swallowed nervously. "Good idea. You'd better come out so I can do the same."

Madoka lightly hopped down. Just as Kyousuke was climbing into the vehicle, he called, "Kasuga-kun?"

The esper looked back. "Hmm?"

"I can't thank you enough for doing this." The catlike eyes, dark blue now, stared up at him. "If you lose your powers... I promise, Kasuga-kun, I'll make it up to you by being your girl forever."

"Ayukawa..." Kyousuke quickly ducked into the Snow-Cat and shut the door so Madoka wouldn't see the tears forming in his eyes.

oOo

Several minutes later, the pair stood ready by Kyousuke's grandfather's side. He was still sitting at the edge of the crater, still peering into its depths, still trying to melt the frozen spring water with his Power.

"I think I almost have it," he reported. The slick surface, he saw, had acquired ripples. "When I finish heating this, you two take your clothes off and jump in."

"Jump in?" Kyousuke eyed the distance apprehensively. "Ojii-chan, are you sure the spring's deep enough?"

"I was talking figuratively, Kyousuke! Had I wanted to break your bones, I would have done so by now. It would be safer for you to use your Power."

Thus rebuffed, Kyousuke went back to stand beside Madoka.

Everyone lapsed into silence. Ojii-chan continued to heat the water until, twenty minutes later, he announced, "It's as ready as I can get it. Time, you two."

Madoka's hands went up to his coat. Kyousuke quickly turned away and began to undress himself. The polar cold bit at his skin, and he shivered. They were lucky there was no wind now, and that the temperature was warm for the Antarctic nighttime, a mere 12 degrees below freezing.

He sighed and shivered. _Well, here we go,_ he thought to himself. _Forgive me, Ayukawa._ He steeled himself and turned around.

Madoka was already undressed as well, and the redness of her _bishounen _face must have matched the burning of Kyousuke's own as they took in each other's nakedness for the first time.

"Ayukawa," Kyousuke said, gulping, "hold on to me, please. I'm going to float us in."

The _bishounen_ nodded, and gingerly went over to embrace Kyousuke, keeping their boots until the last moment. They both grimaced as a particularly sensitive portion of their anatomies made contact.

"Ayukawa—" Kyousuke gritted his teeth "—I don't mean to offend you or anything, but dammit, this is the first and last time I ever want to feel a naked guy against me."

Madoka's face flushed a deeper crimson. "Believe me, Kasuga-kun, I understand perfectly well how you feel."

He gasped as Kyousuke lifted them a few inches off the ground with his Power. Then they shed the last vestiges of their clothing, drifted to the side, hung for a moment over the precipice, and started down.

A few seconds later they were floating just above the steaming surface at the bottom of the hole. Kyousuke tested the spring by extending a toe downward, decided that the water was safe, and lowered them the rest of the way in.

The liquid was comfortably warm, but not hot enough to turn Ayukawa back into a girl. The pair quickly found themselves swimming, staring up at the ice walls of the pool, which glittered a winking gold in the poorly-lit darkness. The light played the off the water in unusual patterns, and for a moment Kyousuke felt himself lost, as if in another timeless reality.

"Kasuga-kun," Madoka said softly, slowly waving his hands to and fro in the eerily-lit water. "It's beautiful. I feel as though I'm all alone with you here, and we're the only people in the world."

Kyousuke nodded at him. "I feel the same way, Ayukawa."

They waited, but nothing seemed to be forthcoming, so the esper yelled, "Ojii-chan! There's nothing happening!"

"Oh, I forgot to tell you!" the old man shouted back, his head a backlit black circle hanging over the edge of the hole. "You have to kiss! It's not called the Spring of Angel's Drowned Lover for nothing, you know!"

Kyousuke snorted. "Now he tells us," he grumbled in disgust.

Madoka put a slick hand on his wet shoulder. "Kasuga-kun," he said, turning him around. "Please. I want to get this over with. I want to go back to being an ordinary girl." Without preamble he leaned forward and roughly took Kyousuke's lips in his own.

Kyousuke clasped Madoka's shoulders, feeling the warmth of the mouth pressing against his, claiming it. _All alone with you... and we're the only people in the world..._ Every nerve in him was alive: he could feel everything, from the liquid heat of the water, to Madoka's skin rubbing against his, the hands on his shoulders, their thighs pressing against each other...

Suddenly he began to feel an electric tingle surging through his body, and instinctively knew that the spring was doing its work. He broke off from Madoka to shout out what was happening to his grandfather, but the _bishounen_ hungrily sought after his lips and kissed them again, preventing him from speaking.

_Ayukawa..._ Suddenly the surroundings were lit up in a blinding white light, and for a moment Kyousuke thought he heard the strains of a sweet, sad choral music wafting through the air. He closed his eyes, and tried to listen more to the sound. Failing to discern it any more, he opened his eyes and looked into the blinding light.

oOo

Somehow they were no longer in the water, no longer swimmingindeed, no longer in their own time or in their own world. Kyousuke watched as a green park he recognized as one near Ayukawa's home began to coalesce about them. They were still naked, still touching each other, but that scarcely seemed to matter now. As the momentsdays? Centuries?passed, he realized that the people walking around in the area didn't notice them at all.

A misty white form detached itself from Madoka's _bishounen_ body and enveloped the anxious esper. He felt a momentary chill, and something pressed insistently against his mind, invading his thoughts.

_Thank you for freeing me_, said a gentle male voice. _I am forever grateful to you. As my thanks, witness a future of yours that may come to pass..._ The weight fell from Kyousuke's mind, the white mist evaporated, and the park solidified around them.

"Mama!" called a little pigtailed girl in a red jumper as she ran through Kyousuke's immaterial body to a woman seated on a bench some distance away. The woman had long black hair underneath a red straw hat and wore a simple brown dress and sandals, and was reading a book.

The woman's head popped up. "Na-chan!" she exclaimed. "Where's your father?"

"Ayukawa!" said Kyousuke, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "That's you!"

"So I noticed, Kasuga-kun." Madoka was a girl again, but that didn't surprise Kyousuke anymore. It seemed like a foreordained part of things.

"You're so beautiful..." he breathed, entranced at the vision. Madoka smiled and kissed him, then went back to watching the scene.

The little girl hopped onto the bench beside her mother. "I left him looking for me in the playground," she giggled. " I used the Power to get back here."

"You naughty girl!" the older Madoka said, lifting her daughter onto her lap. "Didn't I tell you not to use the Power in public?"

"But Mama, no one saw me, and Auntie Kurumi uses it all the time anyway, so I"

"There you are!" exclaimed a male voice. Madoka twisted around in Kyousuke's grasp upon hearing it.

"Oh, my..." she breathed. "You don't look so bad yourself, Kasuga-kun."

The young esper turned around and saw himself. Older, taller, but with roughly the same hairstyle, and with a devilishly mischievous look on his face.

"Na-chan," the older Kyousuke said, walking up to the mother and daughter pair. "You didn't think I'd feel you leaving the playground, did you?"

The little girl shrieked happily and embraced her mother, hiding her face in Madoka's bosom. "I'm sorry, Papa! Don't send me to the Underworld, please!"

"Underworld?" Madoka's brow furrowed. "Kyousuke? Just what have you been telling your daughter?"

"I'm sorry, Madoka." The man sat down beside the older Ayukawa. "I was just teasing her." He reached out and stroked his daughter's hair. "Don't worry, Na-chan, I won't send you to the Underworld. I was just joking."

The little girl peeked out from her mother's chest. "Really, Papa?"

"Really."

The little girl laughed in glee. "That was fun, Papa! Let's do it again!" As she transferred herself into her father's arms, the world around the young Kyousuke and Madoka began to fade away, until they found themselves once more treading the brightly-lit pool at the bottom of the world.

"Kasuga-kun..." whispered Madoka, resting her head on his shoulder. "I wonder if that will ever come true."

"I certainly hope it will... Madoka." Kyousuke blushed as he felt the softness of her breasts against his chest, the femininity rubbing against his thighs, and wished, as they swam in the water of unknown origin, lit up as if by a supernova, that the moment would never end.

"There's just one thing I hate about it," Madoka announced, pulling her head back to look at him.

"Eh?"

"I never got to hear my daughter's name. Na-chan... Natsuko? Nagasi? Nanako? Natsumi? Or maybe..."

Suddenly the raven-haired girl seemed to sway in Kyousuke's grip. "Kasuga-kun... I'm not feeling so great," she mumbled, blinking at him with eyes shining like many-faceted emeralds in the fulgent glow. "I feel weak..." Her head started to loll backward.

Alarmed, Kyousuke held her tighter. "Why? What's wrong? Ayukawa, tell me!"

"The spring, Kasuga-kun..." Feeling her strength somehow ebbing away, Madoka reached out with a strength fueled by her desperation, put a hand round Kyousuke's head, pulled him to her, and kissed him.

"Kasuga-kun, I love you..."

Kyousuke felt her grip relax. Her hands went limp and slid into the water with little burbles. Her face, eyes closed and lips silent and still, fell away from his. He hugged her more tightly to him to keep her from slipping into the water, acutely aware that her legs had become motionless as well.

"Ayukawa!" Kyousuke's scream of terror echoed off the crystalline walls of the spring. He thrashed around. "Ayukawa! Ojii-chan! Help us!"

The light grew even brighter, wiping out Kyousuke's vision entirely. He had the sensation of something soft but heavy slamming into his mind, and the world faded into a blank whiteness.


	11. A Night Of Song

**The End Of The Road Is In Sight! A Night Of Song**

July 7, Thursday. The rosy dusk sky and yellow-orange setting sun found the ABCB closed for a special little party. It had been a particularly fine day, a tad on the warm side, but excellent nevertheless.

Inside the kissaten were Hikaru, Yuusaku, the twins, and the hentais. They had gone home and changed, then quickly converged at the establishment and got busy getting everything ready for their highly-anticipated celebration. Master had gone out for a while, saying he had to buy some ice cream, as there wasn't any more in the fridge.

"Hey, where's Madoka-san and Kasuga?" asked brown-haired Yuusaku, as he held up some bamboo stalks against the ABCB wall so Hikaru could finish taping them upright.

"Onii-chan's still at home, Yuu-kun," answered Kurumi. She was checking the various foodstuffs, and boogeying a little to the fast beat of Yuiko Tsubokura and Bobson's 'Breaking Heart,' which was blaring from a little cassette player on one of the shelves behind ABCB's bar. "He said he had something important to do before he came here."

"_Breaking Heart, hold me, dakishimete!_" sang Hikaru cheerfully, standing up from her work and swaying along with the song. "Yappii! Madoka-san said she'd be a little late," she informed them. "She said she was going to cook something special for all of us." Behind her, Yuusaku found himself staring at her moving hips, encased in a midi-length silk skirt. He blushed and turned to look out the window.

Catching Hikaru's infectious mood, Manami, who was standing behind the bar inspecting how much free space the refrigerator had left, quietly sang a different song. "_Yes I am calling, calling your heart. And I am falling, falling in love._" She smiled. "That's so sweet of Ayukawa-sempai. I wanted to bring something too, but Miss Big Belly here—" she pointed at Kurumi "—ate all of my fried vegetables up."

"Hey, how was I to know that you cooked them for the party?" countered her sister. "I thought you made them for our afternoon snacks. At least I bought a cake to replace it. Hey, Hatta! Don't touch that!"

The bespectacled boy paused just before his finger dipped into the strawberry-and-blueberry shortcake resting on the ABCB counter. Kurumi had made a mad-teleport-dash to a nearby Tsukasa Nishino bakeshop and shelled out her own allowance for it. "But Kurumi, I just wanted to see if it was as sweet as you..."

"No touch!" The brown-haired girl strode up to Hatta and slapped his hand away. "I don't think anyone would want to eat a cake with finger marks on it."

"Yeah!" agreed Manami. "That's gross! Why don't you help Komatsu-san put the tables and chairs against the walls?"

Hatta didn't answer. He was turned away from her and resting his elbow on the counter, and his head was propped up in his right hand. Kurumi's cake suddenly went ignored.

"Hatta-san?"

"Sorry, Manami-chan, I've found something better to do," the self-proclaimed pervert replied dreamily, and Manami looked past him to see Hikaru and Kurumi standing beside one another in the cleared space in the middle of the café, laughing, dancing the same steps to the song they had all first heard in Disco Moebius.

"Hey you two! Save it for the party!" called Manami, but to no avail, as Hikaru turned to her and, grinning mischievously, ran behind the bar and pulled her away from its sanctuary and into the cleared space.

"Dance with us, Manami-chan!" yelled Hikaru happily, as she began to step in time with Kurumi again.

"Aw, she doesn't know how to dance, Hikaru-chan," Kurumi said, looking down at her blond-haired compatriot's feet, trying to follow them.

"What?" exclaimed the outraged elder twin. "I'll show you." Within a minute the three were moving in unison on the impromptu dance floor, Hikaru slightly in front, leading them along.

"Yay!" she shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. "A Great Dance Troupe!"

The boys had long stopped working and simply stood where they were, watching the happy trio sashaying and ridiculing each other's moves.

Komatsu, who had ended up pausing beside Yuusaku, said, "Well? I'll bet Hikaru-chan looks good to you. She sure does to me."

The entranced underclassman's eyes appeared just about ready to pop out of their sockets. "Cosmic!" he managed to blurt out as he gazed at the prettily moving figure of his long-time crush. "With this, I have no need for heaven or earth!"

"Y'know, Tenchi, er, Morisato-kun—what the heck am I saying, Matsumoto-sama? The girls are distracting my virtuous soul—I mean Yuu-kun," Komatsu said in an aside, "this is the perfect time for you to make a move on her, while she has her guard down and Kasuga isn't here. I'll even help you—"

Just then the door chime tinkled, and everyone turned to see Kyousuke Kasuga, in a blue t-shirt, loose jeans and loafers, holding the door open for Madoka Ayukawa with one hand and carrying an instrument case with the other. She was wearing a floppy white cloth cap, a 'BOY'-emblazoned fire-engine-red blouse, dark crimson pants and white pumps, and bore a large pot in her hands.

"Oh, what bad luck," Komatsu commiserated the suddenly-crestfallen boy beside him. He patted Yuusaku's shoulder in a comradely fashion and went back to work.

"_Ara?_" said Madoka, pleasantly surprised at the happy little group dancing in the middle of ABCB. "What's going on? You sure look happy."

"Welcome, Madoka-san!" said Hikaru, stopping her dance. The twins also stopped and grinned gleefully at each other and at the newcomers. "What's that you've got?"

"My try at _ouzo,_ with a little something added," the ABCB part-timer said. "It's an experiment, really. I hope you all like it."

"Did you bring anything, onii-chan?" Kurumi asked.

Kyousuke shut the door. "W-what? Now that you mention it—"

"He helped me make this," interrupted Madoka. Kyousuke looked at her, and she gave him a covert glance.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, I did. That's why I was late."

"Huh? You were with Madoka-san all this time?" Hikaru hopped closer to her Darling. "But you went straight home from school, didn't you? That was so long ago!" Her eyes grew big. "What were you doing with her, huh? Huh? Don't tell me you were just cooking!"

"Hikaru-chan! I had to change and buy some stuff, too, and that took a while."

With the blond somewhat mollified, everyone went back to preparing for the party. Red and blue ribbons appeared to grace the walls and the bottom front of the counter; some balloons were put up at the corners of the room; and one corner was set aside for the games they had planned to play later, courtesy of Komatsu.

Kyousuke, after checking to make sure Madoka's saxophone case was safe behind the bar where he had put it, sat on a stool and leaned back against the counter, watching the bustling group. The player had changed its music and was in the middle of Yuka Tachibana's 'Tokidoki Blue.'

"Ayukawa? Thanks for covering for me."

The Dragon's Daughter of Koryou Gakuen, who was busy wiping glasses clean behind the bar, sniffed. "Well, I didn't like doing it. You should have brought something, like your sister said, instead of going to my place and escorting me here."

Kyousuke, abashed at her accusation, said "Sorry" and tried to change the topic of conversation. "Boy, it sure has been a busy week, hasn't it?"

"Yeah. I can't believe this whole week's been so full of nothing but schoolwork."

"Uh-huh. You'd think they'd have given us a grace period to help us get used to Fuurinkan. And now, just when we were getting into the swing of things, we have to move back to Koryou again!" The school had been repaired and was waiting for its dispersed students to return promptly on the morrow. "To tell you the truth, I feel kinda disappointed nothing special's been happening lately."

"Oh really, Kasuga?" Madoka leaned closer to him and whispered seductively in his ear, "Maybe you'd like something special to happen later."

Kyousuke flushed a bright red and turned to face the girl behind the counter. "Just what do you mean by that, Ayukawa?"

"Why don't you try and figure it out, hmm?" To add to his consternation, she gave him a saucy wink. "Oh, and thanks for taping my finger. I don't know what possessed me to climb that tree in my front yard."

As if on cue, the music stopped, and the cassette player began to broadcast the band Swingtop's 'Salvia No Hana No You Ni,' a very familiar song to all of them, because the band leader Shuu was Madoka's cousin and because jealous Kyousuke had once upon a time almost fallen for Shuu's girlfriend and Swingtop vocalist Yukari, whose job that long-ago day was to distract him long enough for them to set up a gig featuring Madoka as guest guitarist and saxophonist.

Face still flaming, Kyousuke listened to Yukari's smooth, low singing voice for a few minutes, especially during the chorus

_Broken Heart To Dream  
To love is more sincere than to be loved.  
Broken Heart To Dream  
My tears of passion I dedicate to you.  
You Are Everything To Me._

Then he asked innocently, "Hey, Ayukawa, Yukari-san told me you were the one who wrote the lyrics to that song. Is that true?"

"What?" Caught off guard, the 'phantom singer' of Swingtop nearly dropped the glasses she was handling and matched Kyousuke's red face with her own. "That silly Yukari-san... why do you ask?"

"Nothing, really. They just seem so... heartfelt. Even when you were playing the sax solo at Swingtop's concert... you really put your heart and soul into your music, don't you?"

Madoka's expression remained constant, but inwardly she railed, _Kasuga-kun, can't you tell why I do so? Are you really that blind? I wrote that song for you, you blockhead! _"Kasuga-kun, I—"

"Darling!" Hikaru bounded up beside her beloved Kyousuke and held out a little lollipop-shaped piece of meat. "Could you please try my fried chicken and tell me what you think about it?"

Kyousuke took the proffered helping and bit into it. "Hey, this is good," he said, chewing and nodding. "Tastes lemony..."

"I'm so glad you like it!" Hikaru hugged him with her usual aclarity, and he almost choked on the chicken, barely managing to swallow it as her clinch once again blocked his windpipe and esophagus. Then, unexpectedly, she let go of him, and stood still with her hands behind her back. "I made it for the party, and especially for you," she said shyly. "I put everything I had into that..." she added, her voice trailing away.

"Hikaru-chan," Kyousuke murmured, his heart trembling at the unusually serious and tender expression on her face. Would he ever have the strength to break her heart when it came down to it, to see that innocent face weep bitter tears? "It really does taste good, you know."

"Thank you, Darling." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and went back to helping Yuusaku with the bamboo fronds.

Kyousuke watched her for a moment, then turned back to the food in his hand. Beyond it, he could see Madoka looking at him with a somber expression on her face.

"Ayukawa... what is it?"

"Kasuga-kun, how long... how long are you planning to keep this going on?" Madoka turned away from him, under the pretense of placing glasses back on the shelves lining the rear of the bar.

Kyousuke stared after her and finished the morsel off, throwing the bone into the garbage can hidden behind the counter. Then he set about helping his sisters with the decorations. He had no sure answers to the question himself, and the ones he could come up with were all unpleasant and did not bear thinking about for too long. As he worked, he could hear the new track coming from the cassette player. It was Shiroh Sagisu's 'Kanashii Kake.' A sad gamble.


	12. The End Of The Road

**The End Of The Road! Ojii-chan's Revelation, Madoka's Heartache**

Much later, at the height of the party, a pair of figures stood in the semi-darkness outside ABCB, looking unobtrusively though the large glass windows, watching as the teenagers inside listened to Madoka's soulful saxophone rendition of Kanako Wada's 'Jenina.' One of them was Takashi Kasuga, Kyousuke's photographer father, who stared at the scene through his steel-rimmed glasses. The other was Takashi's father-in-law.

"You see, my son?" Ojii-chan said. "At least they're happy enough now."

"I still don't understand, otou-san, why you had to erase their memories."

The old man let out a great sigh. "I didn't want to influence your son's love life the way I did. I want him to make his own choice: Madoka-chan or Hikaru-chan." The elder Kasuga smiled sadly. "If he ever finds out about this, he'll thank me for it. No true love can ever come about under the interference of an old man as stupid as I."

"Otou-san... did you ever do anything like this to Akemi and me?"

"No, I didn't," answered Ojii-chan solemnly. "Even though I really wanted to because I hated you for taking her away from me, I knew your love for each other was true. So I left you alone."

Takashi looked at his father-in-law. "You've never really forgiven me for that, have you?"

"You're wrong, my son." Ojii-chan patted Takashi's shoulder. "I forgave you a long time ago. You made my daughter happy. What more could a father wish for?" He looked down at the pavement. "Except to have her here with us now, possibly. But wishing won't change anything, and not even I can bring the dead back to life. But you know, Takashi, I'm sure she would have approved of the way you raised your children—her children. Kyousuke has a fine head on his shoulders, and his heart's in the right place. Even if he does seem to be a bit indecisive and cowardly at times, he's still an honest, caring young man. There's so precious few like him nowadays." There was a long pause, and the filtered sound of Madoka's sax, plaintive and lonely in the nighttime, came through the window glass. "My daughter was right in choosing you to be her husband. And I... I was wrong."

Takashi blinked away a sudden rush of tears. "T-thank you, otou-san. You don't know how important your words are to me... thank you so much."

"Don't mention it."

There was the sound of a throat clearing, and they looked behind them. A curly-haired, mustachioed and bearded man was standing there with parcels in his arms and a glowing cigarette in his mouth, and looking at them suspiciously.

"Pardon me," he said. The cigarette wiggled. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, good evening. I'm Takashi Kasuga, Kyousuke's father." The photographer bowed and gestured. "This is his grandfather. Are you the Master of this place?"

"Ah! Kasuga-kun's dad? Please, come in, both of you! Welcome!"

The two younger men made to enter ABCB, but Takashi realized his father-in-law was still standing in the middle of the pavement.

"Otou-san?"

The old man shook his head. "No, you go on ahead. I have to get back to Obaa-san. She's all alone in the house." He nodded briefly. "Have fun." He turned and started to walk away, down the silent, shadowy Orange Road, and the notes of 'Jenina' drifted away with him into the darkness.

Takashi watched him go and looked up at the stars. For a moment he wondered if Akemi was watching him, and if he'd ever see her again. _I did my best, love,_ he thought. _And I'll continue to do so, for as long as Kyousuke and Manami and Kurumi still stay with me and need me. They're all I have left of you._ Then, sighing, he went into ABCB and was greeted by a chorus of welcomes, and he put on a happy face and shut the door behind him.

oOo

"I can't believe the guy who composed the song 'Tori No You Ni' actually dropped by a while ago," Kyousuke was saying to Hikaru as he retreated into the ABCB changing room.

"Well, we're just a lucky bunch of kids, Darling. I know I am," she replied, blowing him a flying kiss just before she went back to collecting the little strips of paper that had magically appeared on the bamboo stalks on the ABCB wall.

"Hey, Kyousuke," said his father as he helped Komatsu and Hatta with returning the chairs and tables, "don't forget the baseball team tryouts tomorrow!"

"Yes, Dad, I'll do it!" Kyousuke replied positively before ducking inside the back room.

The party had just ended, and everyone, including Takashi and Master, was cleaning the place up. It had been a wonderful gathering, especially when the chance visitor had consented to playing a duet with Madoka, with her on the alto sax and him on a guitar Master had managed to dig up from his little room above the pub. The only part Kyousuke didn't like about the party was when Komatsu tried to once again utilize his infamous 'follow-the-instructions-on-the-random-piece-of-card-given-to-you' game to get to his sisters. He had to surreptitiously employ his powers to change the 'Kiss the boy sitting next to you' card of Kurumi to 'Kick the boy sitting next to you.' Hatta wasn't very pleased with Komatsu after that.

The esper wasn't able to prevent himself from being caught between Hikaru and Madoka again, however. Hikaru drew a card that said 'Kiss the person on your right.' Naturally, that had to be him. He quite literally went out of his mind figuring out how to escape his predicament, while the hostile looks given him by Yuusaku and Madoka only added to his nervousness and consequent inability to use his Power. In the end, Manami saved him, by changing the instruction to 'Give the person on your right an electric massage' when Hikaru wasn't looking, and convincing her she must have misread it. A painful, but nevertheless infinitely preferable alternative to kissing the sweet blond girl right in front of the irritated Madoka.

He was just about ready to call it a night. Kyousuke closed the changing room door and took his apron off, tossing it into his open locker, then turned around. Madoka was also there in the room, kneeling on the floor, rummaging through her locker for something.

Grabbing the opportunity to be alone with her, Kyousuke brought out from his pants pocket the little gift that Manami had inspired him to buy for Ayukawa that day. He approached the moody girl with trepidation, afraid she was still angry at him over the game.

"Ayukawa? May I speak with you, please?"

She looked up at him. "What is it?"

"I-I want you to have this." Kyousuke held out the little giftwrapped box.

Madoka raised her eyebrows. "Are you trying to bribe me, Kasuga-kun?"

"What? I'm not, Ayukawa. It's... it's just my way of saying 'I'm sorry' for what happened on the train some days ago, and I guess... for tonight as well. Please accept it."

Madoka, after a moment's consideration, took it from him, her expression brightening somewhat.

"Go ahead, open it, please," Kyousuke prompted her.

There was a metallic crinkling sound as Kyousuke's inamorata removed the wrapping and opened the cardboard container within it.

"Huh? What's this?" She held up a silver necklace with little links and a bronzed feather hanging from it.

"Well..." Kyousuke blushed and hung his head. "I always did consider you an angel with a chip on her shoulder and some missing feathers." He laughed embarrassedly. "Sorry it's so kitsch. I didn't have enough money or time to find something better, so..."

"Oh, no, I think it's fine." She stood up and unscrewed the tiny fastener. "Angel with a chip on her shoulder, huh?" Madoka looked at Kyousuke, an unnamable expression on her face. "What a coincidence, Kasuga-kun. I was just thinking about the lyrics to that man's 'Tori No You Ni.'"

"Which part?"

"Oh, nothing in particular." Madoka wasn't about to tell him that she was dwelling on the end stanza, which went_  
_

_I'd like to rest my wings  
Inside your gentle love  
But I'm a bird chasing after dreams  
Made to fly until I fall apart.  
_

She sighed. "I'm no angel, and I'm not really mad at you, Kasuga-kun. I just wish..." Her voice died away, and she averted her eyes from the boy who had come to mean so much to her, an awkward silence filling the little room with its heavy presence.

_I'm not an angel,_ she wanted to cry out and tell him. _I'm a bird, a bird about to fall out of the sky, tiring itself—myself—out waiting for you... How much longer will I have to wait, Kyousuke, until I can finally call you my own and tell you how I feel about you? Until I can have your arms around me and feel your lips on mine?_

Madoka found Kyousuke looking oddly at her. "Kasuga-kun, why are you staring at me like that?"

"A-Ayukawa? Why... why are you so sad?" he asked, frowning.

"Oh, it's nothing. Nothing at all," she replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Kyousuke wasn't the least bit convinced, but there was no prying the truth out from the enigmatic stranger Madoka could be when she wanted to keep a secret. _Why aren't you happy, Ayukawa? Doesn't my presence_—_my little trinket_—_make you even the tiniest bit happy? Please tell me. I'd do anything to see a smile on your face._ "Oh, here, let me do that."

Wanting to do something to escape the maudlin mood he felt was standing between them, the young esper took the necklace and put it around the ebon-haired girl's neck. He fastened it, then looked again at her, seeing how the little feather glistened while lying against her soft, pale skin. _Gods, how I wish that were me._

Madoka touched the feather with her fingers and felt a sudden rush of comfort. If she couldn't have Kyousuke to herself, at least he was still here with her. She looked up at him and smiled gently, her spirits buoyed by the thought. Her smile was a salve on his wounded soul; his presence was a balm to her hidden sorrows.

"Thank you, Kasuga-kun," she whispered, hoping that the pain—and the joy—wouldn't show too much in her voice. "For an indecisive boy... you can be very sweet." She stepped forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Apology accepted." Then she swiftly exited the room, hiding the little quilled construct under her shirt.

Kyousuke stared at the changing room door, which the girl with the catlike eyes had left ajar. _Whoa. Two kisses in a day, one from Hikaru-chan, one from Ayukawa. My luck's certainly changing._ His eyes widened._ A kiss? A kiss!_ He slapped a hand to his cheek, suddenly feeling branded by what Madoka had done. _Hey, that's the first time she's ever kissed me for real!_ His heart leapt in his chest, and an idiotic grin appeared on his face. _That must mean..._

"Ayukawa! Wait for me!" With the silly pastiche of a smile still on his face, he hurried out the door.

oOo

At around the same time, miles and miles away in Nerima, a black-haired martial artist with a braided tail on the back of his head was quietly sitting at Okonomiyaki Ucchan's counter, watching tiredly as the coal-eyed, long-haired proprietor wielded her spatulas with accustomed skill, humming 'yappa paa, yappa paa,' as she did so.

"Thanks for letting me hide here, Ucchan," he said. "Those guys are crazy. I mean, I wasn't the one who invited the girls to the house! They invited themselves!" He snorted disgustedly. "And as if I didn't have enough problems dealing with Ryouga, Mousse, and Happousai, Kunou came looking and demanded—" the boy pulled himself upright and began spouting bombast in a suitably changed voice "—'Where did you hide my love, the pig-tailed girl, you fiend? Answer me or I shall set the fury of the Blue Thunder of Fuurinkan upon you!'"

Ukyou Kuonji stopped her humming and giggled. "My, you certainly had a busy day, didn't you, Ran-chan?"

"Oh please, don't remind me any more about it," Ranma Saotome pleaded, following one of her okonomiyaki as she deftly scooped it from the flat range to a dish. "When I get home I'm gonna sleep like the dead. I just hope it doesn't rain tonight. There are too many holes in the roof."

Ukyou turned off the grill, slid the plate towards Ranma, and placed some condiments on the counter in front of him. "Here, Ran-chan. You need to keep your strength up, just in case you need to deal with them again soon."

"Thanks so much, Ucchan." Ranma dug into his pocket, but Ukyou held his arm and stopped it.

"Uh-uh-uh," she said, shaking her head. "Consider this my _ai no puresento_ for you tonight, Ran-chan."

Ranma froze, an alarmed expression appearing on his face. "Ucchan..."

"Oh, don't look at me like that, Ran-chan. I don't mind you thinking of me only as an old friend." She released him and leaned against the counter. "Who knows, maybe someday you'll wake up and realize that I'm the one best suited for you." Putting her head in her hands, she smiled a winsome smile at him.

Ranma swallowed. "Ucchan, you're making me feel guilty."

Ukyou looked at him, surprised, and tossed her head back and laughed. "At least I've proven you do have a conscience, Ranma. Anyway, think no more about it. I've got just one request to make of you."

"What's that?" Ranma asked warily.

"Stay with me on the roof tonight. I feel like watching the stars."

"And looking for Hikiboshi and Orihime, no doubt." The martial artist smiled, then frowned as he remembered something. "Ucchan, I can only stay a little while. I–I promised Akane I'd be home as soon as I could."

"Aw, come on, Ran-chan. You get to be with her every day. I'm only asking you for tonight."

Ranma looked at her puppy-dog eyes and sighed. "I know I'm gonna regret this... but okay, Ucchan, just this once."

Ukyou smiled widely, and if her counter hadn't been in the way she would have neck-tackled Ranma. "Thanks, hunny."

"What about Ko–"

"Oh, you don't have to worry 'bout him. I don't know where he's gone, but he hasn't shown his face around here all day." The spatula girl's face took on a stern look. "I'm seriously thinking about docking him some pay. I had to handle all the customers by myself."

Ranma looked contemplatively at her. "You know what? You reminded me of something. I haven't seen that girl, that Madoka what's-her-name, around lately." He narrated how an old man had dropped by the Tendou dojo the other day, to interview him and his father Genma about the nature of their curses, saying that he had to know to help his niece find a cure. The old man was so alike in posture and voice to his father that for a moment Ranma had thought he was some distant relative of theirs.

"Ayukawa," Ukyou informed him. "I haven't seen her around too, but she and her friends won't be showing up at Fuurinkan anymore."

"Oh? Why?"

Ukyou owled him. "Didn't you hear, Ran-chan? Their school's already been fixed. Today was their last day here."

"Really? Darn." Ranma took a portion of okonomiyaki and bit into it, chewing and looking thoughtfully at his childhood friend. "I wonder if they ever found a cure for her."

"Who knows, Ran-chan?" Ukyou took a cloth she had stuck in her belt and began wiping her grill clean with it. "Who knows?"


End file.
